Fox-face & Flames
by tykimikkitty
Summary: Another mask-wearing hero arrives in San Fransokyo. Having no qualms about killing, this man appears to be more of an adversary than an ally to the city's six heroes. Putting that aside, something about this fox-masked, anti-hero seems melancholy and familiar... alive/anti-hero!Tadashi (cover by dasketcherz!)
1. Fox

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_First Encounter_: Kitsune (狐)

∟ "Fox"

* * *

_"Hey, did you know that in legend it is believed that a fox _— _rather, a kitsune _— _feasts on hearts because hearts themselves are a delicacy like none other?"_

_A thin and pale smile _— _almost teasing, almost as if the owner of such a smile is laughing at everything and everyone _— _is given._

_"But then the question arises: 'what if a person doesn't have a heart?' What then?"_

_A pause._

_"Well, I daresay that a kitsune would be tempted to swallow up the very one that beats in its chest. Don't you agree?"_

_The person recieving such questions does not care to answer them. Or perhaps, he does not know the answer to such questions. Perhaps, he does not know the answers to such questions because he does not have a heart of his own. Perhaps, he himself _— _like a fox _—_ has already devoured the one that used to beat in his chest._

* * *

Edward Yamamoto sighed contentedly as he leaned back in his office chair in a room that sat at the very top of the CASCO Incorporation's main communications building. Working hours had been long over but, being one of the CEOs of CASCO, Edward was obliged by responsibility to stay after-hours — or something along those lines, he told himself. His secretary had left only minutes earlier, leaving him alone to his dim office. The lamp that rested on his desk provided only a sparse amount of light, but he was perfectly content with that too.

He arose from his chair — he ignored the squeaking protests it gave as he was quite above annoyances at that level — and turned towards the windows that glistened behind him. The city of San Fransokyo unfolded it's night-life scenery from behind the thin windowpane for his viewing. The moonlight from the sky was being hidden away by a dark and heavy cloud, but the city lights glistened with enough luminance to replace a thousand moons. He smiled at the sight. His ghostly reflection from the window smiled back at him.

This reverie, however, was disrupted when the light from his lamp abruptly died. Pitch blackness, darkness consumed the room. The reflection of his office was outlined even more on the windowpane in this darkness; and in that reflection another face that was not his own appeared just over his shoulder.

The face was not that of a human.

No human face could be that pale. No human face could have such angled eyes, nor such an angled mouth. No human face could be so animalistic, so fox-like in appearance.

Edward turned on his heels and pressed back against the window behind him. His eyes were wide with fear and confusion — an expression he was familiar with seeing on others, not so much himself.

Who was this person? How did they manage to reach his office? Where was security?!

"H-How the hell did you get in here?!" Edward stuttered angrily, swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat. "Security!"

The fox-faced humanoid did not answer. Instead **it** simply approached him. With every step **it** drew closer; and Edward found himself desperately smashing his back against the window behind him. He was pressing back so hard against the glass pane that he swore that it would crack if he pressed against it any further.

"What do you want?" Edward tried again in a quieter voice. Business-like, almost professional.

With his question ringing in the air, **it **finally stopped its approach and was now only inches away from him.

It was then that Edward was able to register the fox-faced humanoid's additional features. Reddened scars twisted along its exposed left arm; and white gauze was wrapped from both of its forearms down to the base of its palms — a stark contrast in color, almost blinding. But Edward did not take these features to heart nor did he take the time to observe the thing's other features; rather, his attention was stolen away by the the sheathed katana that rested on its back.

"A-Are you going to kill me?!" Edward stuttered in horror. He could literally taste death on his tongue.

**It **refused to answer once more.

"I-If you're doing this for money," Edward continued, straightening himself up and staring into what he believed were the creature's eyes, "I can pay you way more handsome—

"Edward Yamamoto," the fox-faced thing drew with a deep and cold voice — a voice that was startlingly human. "You've been investing in scientific projects that involve human experimentation."

Edward's eyes widened in shock, and all he could manage was — "H-How did you know...?"

"You are guilty."

The cloud that had been covering the moon up until then drifted away as that statement was spoken. Silver light showered the room, and Edward winced at the sudden brightness. And in that reflexive action, he missed catching sight of many things.

He missed the glint of light from the fox-faced **man**'s drawn blade.

He missed the splatter of red that erupted from his neck as the blade finished its course.

He missed the cold smirk that arose on the fox-faced man's true face as he removed and discarded the fox-mask (not mask) onto the dark floor.

He missed seeing the final seconds of his life tick away into nothing.

The office fell into reverie once more, and the city lights continued to play behind the windowpane.

* * *

It was only half an hour later that the office was invaded once more. This time the invaders came in the form of five humans and one large robot. They entered the room in unison, taking on offensive-fighting poses almost immediately. These poses fell, however, as the six realized that the room was deathly quiet and empty.

"Uh, so where's the Yamamoto dude at?" one of the six — Fred — questioned as he took off his reptilic mask.

"The security officers said that he never left the building," another one of the six — Honey — frowned as she walked deeper into the office. "He should be in here…"

"Great," another — GoGo — scoffed, popping the bubble she carefully crafted from the gum in her mouth. "So does this mean that we just waste our one free night?"

"No," the smallest member — Hiro — scoffed back at her as he approached the wooden desk that rested at the very back of the room, "this just means that we're probably going to have a full-on chase scene in a few."

Hiro inspected the desk carefully, looking around and below it until a flash of white and red caught his eye. Resting on the floor next to the very corner of the desk was a circular object. He bent down and picked it up with a frown.

"What've you got there, Hiro?" another — Wasabi — asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

Hiro raised the object so the other five could see it.

"It's a… kitsune mask."

* * *

**01.26.17 edit: **Going back to fix some grammatical and spelling errors! Also spicing up some descriptions.


	2. Gold

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Second Encounter_: Kin (金)

∟ "Gold"

* * *

Hiro stared scrutinizingly at the kitsune-mask that he was holding high above his head as he laid in bed. He then sighed for the upteenth time that day, rolled onto his stomach, and studied the mask from a different angle.

"Hm…."

"Hiro, I kindly suggest that you start studying for the exam that you have on Thursday so that you will not have to pull an all-nighter again. It is not good for your mental and physical well-being. Adolescents of your age require at least ten hours of sleep a day."

Hiro glanced up at the giant, marshmallowy blob of genius-level mechanical work that stood patiently next to his bed. It blinked at him innocently, and he smirked back at it.

"Sleep is for nerds." He finally replied as he rolled back onto his back and spread his legs and arms apart. The mask was loosely dangling on his fingertips now.

"I sense that you are distressed, Hiro." Baymax stated as he plopped on his butt and blinked at Hiro again, albeit more intensely. "Are you distressed because of our encounter with the masked man last night?"

"I don't know." Hiro sighed, rolling onto his belly again. "Wouldn't you be if some guy with a mask just randomly apparated in front of you like he was Harry Potter or something, while you were in the middle of a bank showdown thing?"

"Perhaps talking about it more will help relax you." Baymax suggested.

Hiro grimaced and stared at the mask again.

"I don't know… something about that guy was…"

* * *

[_the previous evening_]

Hiro was certain that at that moment he was the embodiment of a perfect student. Here he was busily scribbling away in his notebook at his desk with his eyes rapidly darting from left to right. There his textbook was laid out on his lap. And there his night lamp, giving off waves of heat because it had been on for over five hours now, burning away on the corner of his desk. But his current appearance was just a facade for the true horror that he was going through. To put it simply, he was being murdered by his homework. That was the reason why he nearly leapt out of his seat in joy when he suddenly found himself being rescued (distracted) from it. This salvation came from a beeping sound that emanated from Baymax's chest. The robot was idly sitting in the corner of the room and reading a Goldilocks picture book and jumped in surprise at the sound.

Hiro had recently programmed him with a software that allowed him to connect with all the emergency news medias that were relevant to San Fransokyo. It had taken a while to adjust all of the channel frequencies to a small, operable chip, but it had been worth it.

"My news-media implant indicates that there has been a bank robbery slash hostage situation at Sanfransokyo Rank-Bank." Baymax pipped as he jerked his head upwards. "Would you like me to inform your friends of this development?"

"Hell yeah!" Hiro grinned, fist-pumping the air and throwing his pencil down onto the table. "And tell them to suit up!"

Without skipping a beat, Hiro immediately ran down to the garage - not before giving his aunt a hasty excuse of course - and equipped his suit, as well as Baymax's. Seconds after the last bit of the robot's armor was equipped, Hiro hopped on the robot's back and the duo took off to the sky.

It didn't take them long to reach the bank, although they did have a rough landing due to the fact that so many police cars were surrounding the establishment. Said establishment was grand in every aspect - all the way from its creamy marble walls to its well well-polished windowpanes.

"Took you guys long enough." pipped a snarky voice as the duo alighted onto the ground with slight clumsiness.

"Whatever, Speedy," Hiro rolled his eyes as he hopped down from Baymax's back. He took a quick look around and frowned. "Where are the others? Weren't you supposed to pick them up this time around?"

"Uh. No." 'Speedy' Gogo frowned, crossing her arms with a slight look of irritation. "I picked them up last time."

"Ugh!" Hiro slapped his forehead. "Seriously?"

It was then that the three shadows of their missing teammates appeared before them. All three owners of the shadows were undeniably panting their lungs out, but one of the three just so happened to be panting in a fashion that was happier than the others.

"Dudes!" came the pant from the reptile-themed suit. "I had to take the bus to get here, man! Not cool… although I did get to see some really rad sites."

"You took the bus?!" Wasabi scoffed from beside him. "Honey and I had to run our scrawny little legs all the way down here!"

"Well," Honey pipped from beside them as she brushed a strand of stray blonde hair to the side, "at least we got some good exercise!"

"Sorry…" Hiro muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "Forgot that it was my turn to pick you guys up…"

"Typical." Gogo rolled her eyes at him. He scowled back at her.

"Oh! Thank goodness you six are here!" came a voice originating from where the police cars were stationed. A policeman emerged from the shroud of red, white, and blue vehicles; and he bounded over to them. "We were waiting for your back-up!"

Fred then coughed and stepped forward, asking in a deep and authoritative voice, "So, what's the sitch?"

"Er… the _situation_," the policeman drew, throwing an uncertain glance in Fred's direction, "from what we know so far is not looking so good. Twenty-two hostages. Eleven perps, all armed with friction-flare artillery."

"It's kind of like a machine-gun, flamethrower thing. Uses friction to cause heat and fire." Wasabi explained to Fred who's confused expression turned ecstatic.

"Er, yes." the policeman nodded hesitantly again.

"It's alright." Hiro smirked. "We've got this."

And with that, the six of them began a slow-mo walk towards the bank's doors. From behind them, they could hear the policeman worriedly wondering if they were really going to take the entrance in. Of course they would. They were the Big Hero Six, afterall (*).

They burst through the bank's glass doors in unison.

The bank's marble floor was littered with frightened pedestrians who sat cowering in hunched-up positions. A handful of other people (six in all, ironically - the other four must have been deeper in the bank) stood tall above them and held friction-flare guns in their firm hands. These six people were dressed in all black and wore black socks with eye-sockets cut out over their heads. Said six people turned towards the opened doors of the bank with surprised expressions.

"Hm," Hiro nodded with a raised eyebrow, "isn't this a little bit too cliche?"

"Just a bit." Gogo agreed.

And they snapped into action.

Wasabi's main target was the man who stood nearest to the largest group of cowering hostages. He lunged at the man, taking a swipe at the man's gun with his blades. The man retreated backwards quickly, madly pulling on the trigger of the gun.

"Run!" Wasabi shouted at the hostages. "Get out of here, now!"

And the cowering people fled in a herd.

Flames erupted like a fiery volcano from the gun, but Wasabi quickly sliced through them like butter. Seeing the sharpness of Wasabi's blades, the man stumbled further backwards and turned to run away. Wasabi smirked at this and reached down to pick him up by the back scruff of his shirt. The black-dressed man whimpered as Wasabi turned him around so that they were face-to-face.

"Wasabi, watch out!" came a muffled warning shout from the corner of the room.

Wasabi turned just in time to see another black-dressed man come running at him with a drawn friction-flare pistol. The hero barely had time to release the other man that he had a hold on, reactivate his blades, and block the oncoming flames.

"Woah, hot hot hot!" He shouted as several spits of fire grazed his skin. He then heard a clack behind him and turned his head backwards ever so slightly just in time to see the man whom he had previously released pick his gun back up and point it at him. "You have got to be kidding me!" Wasabi deadpanned. He winced as he raised his other blade to block the second torrent of flames.

The heat was eating him alive.

"Uh, need a little help here!" he shouted.

"Wasabi, watch out! Again!"

It was then that a man wrapped in white and black dropped down from the ceiling to the floor in front of him. Wasabi barely had the time to register the man's white and red dappled fox-faced mask, before the said man charged at him.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Wasabi groaned again as the man leapt at him.

The hero closed his eyes and waited for impact but was surprised when he felt two firm hands grasp his shoulders. He cracked open his eyes and saw that the mask-wearing man was nowhere to be found. Strangely enough, he still felt pressure on his shoulders. He glanced upwards and gaped as he registered the fox-masked man performing a handstand on his shoulders.

The fox-masked man turned his body, using Wasabi's shoulders as an axis, and slammed his legs down to the left. This fluid motion successfully knock one of the black-wearing men out cold. He then swerved his body once more and leapt into the air, landing on the other robber with a loud thud and with arms outstretched.

Wasabi stared at the man in shock.

"Uh… thanks….?" Was all he managed to mutter. He didn't have much time to think of anything intelligent to say. In fact, he didn't have much time to register the fact that another black-wearing man, who was swinging his friction-flare rifle wildy in the air, was charging at the masked-man from behind. "Hey, watch out-

The fox-masked man reflexively ducked low as the robber attempted to swing the butt of the rifle at his head. The man then kicked back his leg and spun in a complete circle, effectively knocking the robber clean off of his feet. He walked right over the prostrate and groaning robber as if he were merely a decorative rug and began running towards what appeared to be the back of the bank.

Wasabi, unsure of what to do, stared after him. Second later, he was broken from his daze by the worried shouts of his teammates.

"Wasabi!" his teammates shouted frantically at him as they ran to his side.

"Oh my gosh," Honey murmured in a frantic voice "are you alright? I tried to help but I was cornered…"

"I-I'm fine, baby girl." Wasabi waved her off with a smile.

"My scanners indicate that you are suffering from minor inflammations along your forearm." Baymax stated in his mechanical voice. "Would you like for me to apply some anti-burn spray?"

"Forget that!" Wasabi stuttered with a shake of his head, and he pointed towards the back of the bank. "Did you guys see that dude?!"

"Yeah," Hiro nodded, "I thought he was a baddy, but he might actually on our side..."

"Oh my gosh!" Honey yipped as she clapped her hands. "We should totally throw a hero-welcoming party for him, if he's just like us!"

"Oh man, oh man!" Fred chattered away from alongside her. "Do you know what this means? This means that this is our first superhero team up ever!"

There was a popping sound and all heads veered towards Gogo who was grimacing at them impatiently.

"Are we just going to stand here and chit-chat," she questioned with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms, "or are we going to go back there and kick some butt?"

They stared at her for a moment.

"All in favor of kicking some butt," Fred stated, finally breaking the silence, "say 'I'!"

A unison of "I"s arose, albeit Baymax's because the bot was slightly confused on the meaning of the conjecture. Nonetheless, the six began their sprint towards the back of the bank. Together they pushed back the oak-laden double-doors that led to the rear of the building, and together they assumed their fighting positions. It took a while for them to register that there was no one in the room to apprehend.

Men and women dressed in black were scattered all along the ground. Duffel bags filled with gold were strewn messily by their sides. Glittering jewels, several completely crushed to dust, dotted the floor like raindrops. Only three people in the room appeared untouched by the havoc that had torn through it. Two of these three people, judging by their black wear, were part of the thieving gang. That left the man dressed in both shades of black and white to be identified with an alignment.

"What the…?"

"A kitsune mask…"

The group of six watched as the masked man charged at one of the robbers. Said robber drew out his friction-flare rifle and began shooting madly at the man. The masked-man effectively somersaulted past the streams of fire at an inhuman speed. Leaping into the air and soaring over the rifle-wielding robber's head, the masked-man grabbed the robber by his shoulders mid-flight and yanked him up into the air. For a moment they floated there; and in the next moment, the masked-man deftly landed poised on his feet and slammed the robber hard onto the ground. There was a sickening crack.

"Y-You bastard!" the final robber - who was more nicely dressed than the other robbers - stuttered and shouted in a mad rage as he drew out his own friction-flare artillery and fired. "Burn!"

In one swift and fluid motion, the masked-man bent low and scooped up the man whom he had just throttled to the ground and raised him in the direction of the oncoming flames. A human shield. The six heroes watched in both horror and shock as the hanging robber's body erupted into flames. A screech filled the air and the stench of burning flesh flooded nicely dressed robber immediately released his finger from the trigger. It was a grave mistake on his part.

The masked-man chucked the sweltering body of the robber that he had been using as a shield at the other robber and watched as the latter robber collapsed under the weight of the former one. He approached the fallen robber and watched for a moment as the latter struggled to unpin himself from the deadweight. Then, without skipping a beat, the masked-man bent low and grabbed at the fallen robber's arm. There was a sickening crack in the air again, and it was followed by a blood-curdling scream. When that drawn-out note hit the air, the masked-man lugged the fallen robber over his shoulder and turned towards the exit. He paused as he seemed to register the presences of the six heroes.

"Uh… guys," Fred whispered from beside them, "I think we've got an anti-hero on our hands."

"A what?" Gogo whispered tensely back in annoyance.

"Please!" the robber who was now dangling over the masked-man's shoulders shouted to them desperately. "Don't let him take me! Y-You can take me with you instead - to jail! I won't struggle; I promise!"

Gogo blew a bubble and popped it again with a contemplative expression. She then drew out her left-disk and chucked it at the masked-man. It whirled through the air at a breakneck speed and hurtled towards the man's mask. However, just as it was about to make contact with the mask, the man raised his free hand and caught the disk with almost no effort.

Gogo gapped at him for a moment and started the next moment when the man chucked the disk right back at her. A high-pitched whining sound resonated through the room as the weapon hurtled back towards her. Gogo extended her arms and prepared herself to catch it. For a moment, it was in her grasps, sliding into her fingertips like ice. In the next moment, however, she found herself being thrown backwards by the force of the throw. She wrapped the disk tightly in her arms and skidded along the floor until her back hit the wall behind her.

"Gogo!" Hiro shouted and he, as well as the others, ran to her side. He bent down low. "Baymax, scanners!"

"I'm fine!" Gogo grunted as she came to a slow stand. "More importantly, the masked guy-"

Hiro craned his neck just in time to see the masked-man sprint past him. For a moment, however, time seemed to freeze. It froze at the exact instance the masked man passed him by. In that moment, Hiro was able to make eye-contact with the cold, black eyes that peered out from underneath the mask's slanted eye-holes. And in that moment, Hiro swore that his heart stopped beating alltogether.

Time unfroze again and the masked-man was gone. In his place was the fox-mask that he had been wearing; and it clattered noisily on the ground until it stilled.

* * *

[_present time_]

Gogo sighed as she folded her arms and leaned against the wooden cafe table. She rested her head on her crossed arms and stared intently at the cappucino that was waiting patiently in front of her.

"What's wrong, rad girl?" Honey asked sunnily from across the table.

The sunny scientist was currently flipping through a textbook whilst sipping on a cup of warm honey, lemon tea. The two girls had come out to the cafe for a girls-night-out slash study-session get-together. Honey was the only one doing the studying, however. Gogo, on the other hand, was caught up in her thoughts of the previous night.

"Nothin." Gogo replied curtly, leaning back in her chair and studying the palm of her hands. She was thankful for the fact that Baymax had applied healing cream to her palms or she would have gotten a bad rug-burn from the force of friction of catching her disk. Dissatisfied by the damage her own disk had caused her, she blew a bubble and popped it again.

"Are you thinking about the kitsune-mask guy, Gogo?" Honey blinked at her as she placed her textbook down on the table.

Gogo clicked her tongue in response.

"Fred said something along the lines of that guy being an anti-hero of some sort." Honey continued, clasping her hands together.

"Are you sure we should be taking Fred's advice of all things on this?" Gogo scoffed as she crossed her arms.

"I don't know…" Honey sighed; and she studied her hands for a quiet moment. "Maybe we could help him be an anti-anti-hero!"

"I don't know about that, Sunshine." Gogo grimaced, before she studied her palms again with a frown. "Something about that guy though…"

* * *

The moon outlined the cityscape and created a stark contrast between white and black. At the very top of the blackest building sat a man who had on an entirely blank expression. He sat with one of his legs hanging off of the edge of the building and with the other leg tucked beneath his chin. He stared down at the roaring trains and cars below with dark eyes. It disgusted him. Angered him even. The city that sped on forward; and those within the city that were too weak to catch up.

There was a sudden and soft clacking behind him; and he cast a side glance in the general direction of the sound. A small, female figure appeared from the darkness, the most noticeable feature of this small figure being the red snake-like mask that rested on her head.

"Hey, Kitsune!" the girl pipped as she bounded over to his side and peered at his face. "Wow, I know that I've probably told you this before, but you are a hottie! You shouldn't hide away that pretty face with that scary mask of yours!" She squinted and plopped down beside him: "Although I really think you should put some healing cream on those nasty burn scars of yours…"

The man didn't acknowledge that he heard what she had said.

"Oh," she continued, kicking her legs back and forth loudly against the building's metal frame, "I came to ask you why you decided to intervene at the bank today."

He glanced at her again but didn't answer.

"I mean," she sighed, undoing her mask and fiddling with it in her tiny palms, "I know it was your mission and all, but you could've just waited until everything was over and swooped in at the last minute!" She placed her mask on her lap and stroked it lovingly. "From where I was sitting, it looked like you were actually trying to help those weirdos - not that that's a problem or anything. It's just that it's so not like you to do that stuf-"

"Hebi(**), stop bothering him." came a grunt from behind the sitting duo. "Don't you see that he's in one of his brooding moods? Brooding equals 'do-not-disturb'."

The sitting two turned their heads and watched as a large man approached them. The man wore a kind smile, but his sharp eyes glistened dangerously above them.

"I was just curious, Usagi (***)!" The girl, Hebi, pouted as she crossed her arms.

"Come on, you snake." The large man, Usagi, grunted as he jerked his head backwards. "Just leave him alone for now."

With much reluctance, the girl unfolded herself from the man's side and bounded over to where Usagi stood. They departed into the darkness seconds later.

The brooding man was thus left to himself in the moonlight. He untucked his leg from beneath his chin and allowed it to dangle above the cityscape. He leaned backwards and blinked up at the sky. That disgusted him too.

"I don't know why." he finally spoke, answering the girl's question.

* * *

**A/N**: It hasn't even been an entire day yet, but here I am updating! Thanks for the favorites, follows, and reviews! I kind of did a weird, happy fidgety thing in my chair when I read them all.

Query: do you prefer longer or shorter chapters, this chapter being on the longer side?

I hope you continue to review!

(*) This fic takes place only a few months after the movie, so the heroes are still a little bit immature

(**) Hebi - "snake"

(***) Usagi - "rabbit"


	3. Hostage

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Third Encounter_: Hitojichi (人質)

∟ "Hostage"

* * *

The Robotics building of San Fransokyo University was buzzing with life — especially the laboratory room. The floors were littered with spare parts and wires that stretched down from the ceiling. Students, caught up in their rapidly whirling minds, were running back and forth across the room and somehow managed not to trip over the machinery and debris.

In what was deemed the chemistry-section of the laboratory stood one smiling adolescent nicknamed Honey Lemon. She was currently sketching notes about isotopes and noble gases in her notepad. Well, she was actually trying to prove a theory a_bout_ isotopes and noble gases wrong just for kicks and giggles. She knew that she probably wouldn't succeed, but it was very well worth a shot.

"Hey, Honey." Hiro pipped, rolling around her station on a skateboard.

She nearly dropped the bottle of dissolved sulfur she had been holding with her free hand at the sudden sound. She placed the bottle back down on the table, pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose, and peered down at Hiro who was now rolling back and forth behind her lab table.

"Yes, Hiro?" she smiled brightly. "Do you need something?"

"You're working on something about isotopes, right?" he rolled to the left.

"Yes, well, I'm not physically working with them," she laughed lightly, "cause y'know, they're radioactive… What about them?"

"I'm thinking about stabilizing them enough to power our suits for more efficiency." Hiro explained, stopping and kicking his board into his arm.

"Hm." Honey tapped her chin thoughtfully, before her expression brightened. "I suppose we could try, but we should run some simulations before we try the real thing!"

"Sweet." Hiro grinned, dropping his skateboard and hopping back on it.

With that, the two began to make their way towards the simulation room. On their way to their destination, they came across one cursing Gogo. Said Gogo was madly scribbling away in a notepad and rapidly blowing and popping her bubblegum.

"Er, Gogo," Hiro spoke after he exchanged a look with Honey, "are you having a mental breakdown right now? Do you need some therapy?"

"Argh!" Gogo replied nonsensically as she shoved the notebook she had been writing on in his face. "Look at this! This is simple physics! And that guy just defied it!"

"Excuse me?" Hiro muttered, exchanging another glance with Honey Lemon.

"Okay, so my frictionless disks... no friction right?" Gogo asked him hotly.

"Er," Hiro answered, "that _is_ what frictionless-means…"

"Well yeah, when I threw my disk at that masked guy," Gogo continued, pointing at some calculations she had written up, "there's no question that it encountered air resistance, right?"

"Well, yeah…" Hiro nodded, before he paused and frowned. "Is this about how the masked guy was able to catch your disks?"

"Hell yes it is!" She shouted hotly, before she pointed towards another calculation she had made. "I threw the disk horizontally right? Even taking that and gravity into account, that guy shouldn't have been able to catch the disk!"

"Look, Gogo," Honey murmured lightly, "I know that you're upset about—

"But," Gogo interrupted, "my disks were designed so that air resistance would be almost negligible. That means, acceleration happened! Even if we keep this simple and calculate the velocity and the amount of time it took to reach the distance of that bastard's face… the fact that he caught it… Ugh! It defies physics."

It was then that Wasabi appeared and stood gaping at Gogo.

"Uh, wow," He blinked at her fuming expression, "I've seen you really annoyed, but I've never seen you this angry before.

"My disks have a mass about ten thousand grams — that's ten kilograms — and if you multiply that by its acceleration… that's a force of one-hundred newtons waiting to happen!"

"Wait," Wasabi gaped, "your disks are that heavy?!"

"Yes!" Gogo answered with a final huff, blowing a strand of hair away from her face. She then sighed quietly and crossed her arms: "What I'm saying is… I don't think that kitsune guy was human."

Fred then decided that it was his turn to join the conversation. He flung his arms around Gogo's and Wasabi's shoulders as he approached the gathered group and peered at them with a dazed yet strangely calm expression.

"Who knows?" he finally said after a long and drawn out moment of silence. "Maybe he's some sort of failed human experiment or something. Maybe he's on steroids. Maybe that's why he's an anti-hero!" Fred untangled himself and clapped his hands loudly. "This is another revenge story!"

"Er…" Hiro glanced to the side. "Right…"

"I personally don't believe that Kitsune is a bad guy." Honey said with a fluttering voice. "He did help Wasabi, after all!"

"Well, _I _personally think that that guy can kick some serious—" Wasabi began, before he glanced down at Hiro and cleared his throat, "—kick some serious…. butt."

Hiro rolled his eyes.

"I sense high levels of hormones within all six of you." came a robotic, yet warm voice. "Although it could be that all of you are still at the brink of your adolescents and therefore still experience symptoms of moodiness because of it, I am going to assume that you're distress is caused by the masked vigilante."

"Woah," Fred chuckled, "who said that I was feeling distressed? It is supes cool that we've got another guy on our side."

"'A guy on our side'?" Gogo scoffed. "Yeah, I would love having a guy who enjoys frying people alive on my side, cause why not?"

"Would it help if I inform you of what I know of the vigilante's whereabouts from the news media?" Baymax suggested with a slow blink.

"The guy's been on the news?" Hiro frowned as he turned towards his partner. He nodded at him, "Go ahead. Show us."

Baymax's stomach flickered for a moment; and the five adolescents turned their heads towards the flickering. A screen soon replaced that flickering. It was a recording of a news report from the previous week, the headline being something along the lines of 'Disappearing CEO, Bank-robbery-kidnapping, Slaughter in the Underground — Related?'.

A newswoman, dressed in a clean and orderly suit, appeared on the screen. She smiled brightly and held up a sketch of a kitsune mask along with sketches of other masks for the viewers to see.

"We all know that this is the era of superheroes," the woman reporter began, "but aren't these heroes a little bit questionable?"

"Oh great." Hiro rolled his eyes. "It's one of _these_ news channels."

"Haters gonna hate, bro." was Fred's only comment.

"Recently, a new vigilante has shown his face in San Fransokyo." the woman continued, gesturing towards the sketches. "His alias is currently and simply 'Kitsune'. This title originates from the kitsune-like masks that he has left at his intervention areas."

"I wonder why he does that." Hiro frowned lopsidedly.

"He appears to be more well-trained than the city's eponymous Big Hero Six," the woman continued, "judging from the CCTV records of his performance at the Sansokyou Rank-Bank robbery."

Gogo and Hiro visibly made expressions that were evidently displeased.

"That's not true." Hiro scowled even harder. "We could've handled that situation fine even if that guy wasn't there."

"But where do Kitsune's allegiances lie?" the woman frowned with a shake of her head. "He is believed to be involved with the disappearance of Edward Yamoto, CEO of the CASCO corporation, and at least somewhat related to the underground hangings."

"Underground hangings?" Honey whispered. "What's that?"

She was quickly shushed by the others. Said shushing was for nothing in the end, however. A loud beeping sound emanating from Baymax's chest cut the news report off short. In the screen's place was the blinking symbol of a phone.

"Hiro, you have a call." Baymax informed with a tilt of his head.

"I can see that." Hiro replied with raised eyebrows. "Answer, but cut off the video feed from our side."

"Alright, Hiro."

The phone symbol blinked out of existence and was replaced by the video feed of a business-looking, middle-aged man sitting at his desk. Said man was sweating profusely and shaking in his chair. It was evident that he was doing everything in his ability to keep himself together.

"Is this the Big Hero Six's telephone line?" the man questioned in a raspy voice.

"Yes." Hiro coughed, trying in his best ability to be as formal and authoritative as the man before him. "Are you in need of our services?"

"'Are you in need of our services?'" Gogo mocked him from behind, causing nearly everyone to erupt with laughter.

"Shut up!" Hiro huffed, whacking her on the shoulder.

"Is there a problem?" the man from the screen questioned, folding his hands on his desk.

"Nope! Of course not!" Hiro replied with a deeper voice. "Are you in distress?"

"No, but..." the man replied uneasily. "My daughter is…"

"Wait a minute!" Wasabi blurted out as he straightened himself and jabbed a finger at Baymax's belly-screen. "You're Kenji Brian! The sponsor of CASCO's biological division!"

The man on the screen started but quickly recomposed himself. He nodded deeply with tired eyes and leaned back in his chair.

"I am indeed Kenji Brian." he confirmed. His eyebrows furrowed, and he leaned forward again. "My daughter has been kidnapped and is being held hostage for ransom."

"Oh my…" Honey gasped, covering her mouth. She stepped forward and peered into the screen, despite the fact that the man could not see her. "Have you told any of the authorities about this?"

"No." he replied, lowering his head. "I need to keep this incident confidential."

"What?!" Gogo shouted with a disgusted look plastered onto her face. "She's your daughter!"

Hiro held his hand out to calm her down, ignoring the fact that she couldn't actually do the old man any physical harm. He waited for her to cool her rage and watched as a guilt-stricken expression crossed the man's face before he decided to break the silence.

"We understand." Hiro acknowledged. "Any details about her kidnapping would be helpful."

"She was kidnapped around two hours ago." Kenji informed, clasping his hands together and rubbing his sweating palms. "The ransom letter I found was written by one of my ex-secretaries and demanded that I hand over a certain package to him by six o'clock sharp tomorrow. I believe he has hired a group to work under him."

All six members of the team glanced up at the digital clock that blinked above the doorway. It read 2:49.

"Do you have your ex-secretaries medical records?" Hiro questioned, crossing his arms.

"Yes…" the man frowned after a long pause. "Why?"

"I need you to send them to me right away." Hiro smirked. "We'll have your daughter back to you before you can count to ten!" He clicked the hang-up button and turned towards his team. "Well?"

"Why not?" Gogo shrugged.

"Oh yeah!" Fred yelled loudly, fist-pumping the air.

And the four dispersed to get their things and to equip their gear. The laboratory was soon filled with a cacophony of clacks and clangs that resounded and echoed loudly.

"Alright," Hiro nodded, leaning his back against Baymax's soft belly, "prepare your scanners, buddy. We're going to be scanning the entire city."

"Flying to the blimps?" the robot blinked.

"Flying to the blimps." Hiro nodded.

* * *

Kitsune stared down at the dockyard from his perch on the steel pillar that was being held up by construction machinery. The yard was naturally dark from all the shade that the hanging machinery provided, but it was even darker than usual that day due to the fact that storm clouds hung heavily overhead. The dark made the waves that crashed against the extended docks seem ominous.

It had taken him hours to get the right answers out of the right people to find this place. And now he was a few straws short of irritated. He just wanted to get this whole ordeal over with at this point. All he needed to do now was locate his target and capture him. Of course, he would have to torture his target for answers after that, but that was just a minor detail.

A shadow passed beneath him. A man in a ragged hoody was making his way around a red, metal shipping container. A guard then?

Kitsune poised his legs beneath him and reached for his blade behind him. He decided that, since he was so irritated at the moment, he would take his anger out on the guards. He hadn't quite decided whether or not he would kill them yet. They _were_ scum off the earth, but it would take forever to clean up their corpses. Pushing that decision aside, he prepared to pounce as the guard passed beneath him. A small voice stopped his onslaught.

"Excuse me?" came the quiet, boyish voice.

Kitsune turned his head and watched as a young boy emerged from behind a crate. The boy appeared to be of Asian descent; but Kitsune was only assuming that due to the fact that couldn't see the kid's facial features too clearly from the angle he was at.

What a stupid kid. Darwinism would take its course.

"Hey!" the guard shouted as he ran over the kid. "What are you doing over there?"

"I-I got lost…" the boy stuttered, shrinking backwards. "Can you tell me how to get out of this dockyard… please?"

Hm. Kitsune supposed that he _could _use the boy's distraction to his advantage. On the other hand, he was somewhat eager to see if the guard would kill the boy or not. So, instead of slinking throughout the dockyard and completing his mission, Kitsune kept his place and studied the scene unfolding before him.

"Ugh." the guard slapped his forehead and rubbed his face. "Look kid, if you follow the yellow signs, you'll get out of here in no time. Now scram!"

"B-But…" the kid whimpered, shrinking back slightly. "I'm scared to go alone!... Mister, would you please come with me?"

"What?!" the guard gapped, before he roughly shook his head. "No way!"

The boy began to whimper and let out a loud sob. The guard was left flustered.

"Hey, hey! Shut up!" the guard shouted, awkwardly patting the boy on the shoulder. "Fine! Quit crying! I'll get you out of here… Follow me."

And the two began to trek into the maze of the dockyard. Kitsune decided that he would have some fun; and he followed them deftly and quietly along the steel pillars.

"Aren't you too old to be crying?" the guard grumbled as the kid happily skipped beside him. "Aren't you fourteen or something?"

"Yes, actually." the boy smiled, before he paused in place and peered into a dark alleyway. "Hey, mister…"

The guard stopped walking and back-trekked to where the kid was standing. He roughly grabbed the kid by the arm and yanked him in the direction they were originally heading. The kid fought back and pointed to the alleyway with an excited expression.

"Look! Do you see that?" the boy gasped ecstatically, before he yanked himself free of the man's grasp and darted into the alleyway.

"Kid!" the man shouted, looking around worriedly. "Kid, wait!" He paused, looking into the alleyway and then at his surroundings again, before he sighed deeply. "I don't get paid enough for this…"

With that, he followed the boy into the darkness.

Kitsune leapt from the steel bar down onto the alleyway top below him and ran along it. He peered into the darkness, attempting to locate the boy and the guard. He found the boy staring up at the dead-end wall of the alley. The guard was at his side in moments, bending over to catch his breath.

"Kid…"

The boy turned around and, much to both Kitsune's and the guard's surprises, was wearing a smirk.

"Honey, now!" the boy shouted.

There was an explosion of pink that raised up an equally pink dust cloud. When the dust cloud of pink cleared, the guard was revealed to be covered from mouth to toe with a pink, gooey substance. Beside his frozen form stood the smirking boy (who was now dressed in purple armor), a red giant of a man (?), and a pink-armored girl. The trio did a three-way high-five and yipped quietly to themselves.

It took a moment for Kitsune to recognize them as three of the six whom he had encountered at the bank. When this realization hit him, he smirked dissonantly. How amusing. They were learning.

"So you _can _teach a dog new tricks."

"We're all clear here." the purple-suited boy said aloud, apparently speaking into a communicator of some sort. There was a pause of silence. "It's all clear over there too? Sweet. I think that's all of the guards then."

Hm? Kitsune blinked down in half-hearted surprise. Had they managed to take out all of the guards? He supposed he was a bit more enthusiastically interested now.

"Hiro, there is one more life signature that we have not apprehended yet." the red giant man stated calmly. "That person is located right above us."

Kitsune smirked beneath his mask. He briefly wondered how the man had managed to identify his location. He straightened himself and prepared to slip into the shadows before the trio could locate him in the darkness. However, much to his surprise, the purple-suited boy's head snapped up immediately; and Kitsune was able to see the boy's face clearly for the first time ever.

Slanted and intelligent eyes were hidden behind the boy's purple-tinted screen-helmet. Wispy, black hair framed the boy's face like a lion's mane.

For the first time in a very long time, Kitsune felt his heart skip a beat. He stumbled backwards, his breathing becoming labored and the world around him swarming with static. Confusion settled in.

_Focus, Kitsune. Focus and survive._

And the confusion dissipated.

He remembered what he needed to do. He needed to quickly locate and capture his target. He needed to complete his mission. With these thoughts in mind, he came to a stand and ran along the roof of the alley building and headed towards the red, steel shipping container.

He shook his head and allowed order to return to his mind. He briefly wondered why he had been so tempted to follow the boy in the first place. Sure, he had been bored; and sure, he hadn't been in a hurry to complete his mission, but still… Perhaps it was just the cruelty lying in him that made him do it.

He increased his speed; and in a matter of moments, the shipping container was in his sights.

The container was open.

Light was pouring out from it in waves. Six figures stood in this light and appeared to be facing off against each other. Three of them stood gathered together and tensed at the very edge of the container, while the other three were slowly edging away from it.

With closer inspection, it became evident that the three standing closest to the container were members of the purple-suited boy's team, while Kitsune's target was among the other three. Kitsune gazed at the latter trio intently and came to realize that one of the three was being held at gunpoint.

_The daughter_, Kitsune concluded. His gaze shifted towards the man who flanked her right and who was holding a gun to her temple. _My target._ The gun-wielding man's hands were shaking. _Pathetic. _

Kitsune's gaze drifted towards the hero trio; and his interest became piqued again. He wanted to see how this would play out.

"Woah," the green-suited hero drew out slowly as he stepped towards the other three, "look now, Mr. Pierce, I know that you haven't been getting along well with Mr. Brian, but isn't kidnapping his daughter taking it a bit far?"

"You don't understand." Kitsune's target, Mr. Pierce, cried aloud as he pressed the nose of the gun deeper into Brian's daughter's temple.

Kitsune decided that the man's voice annoyed him. Not only was his target not strong enough to pull the trigger right then and there, but he also had the gall to try and evoke sympathy from his pursuers. Perhaps Kitsune would cut out the man's tongue and have him write the information that he needed down by hand instead of screaming it out loud.

Kitsune dug into his belt and pulled out a throwing knife. He would need to take out his target's remaining hired guard first.

He aimed carefully, breathed in, breathed out, and thre—

"You!" came a shout from behind him. "Stop!"

The knife soared through the air and hit his target's guard in the arm. A miss.

His target let out a scream and backtracked, dragging Brian's daughter along with him. He was evidently attempting to escape.

Kitsune leapt down onto the dirty ground, missing the purple-suited boy and his two teammates by a second. He charged forward, digging into his belt and grasping several more throwing knives in his palms. He could hear the footsteps of the other six participants of the chase close behind him, but he ignored them.

His target, the hostage, and his target's daughter were now running along the edge of one of the wooden docks. His target screamed loudly and chucked his gun in Kitsune's general direction.

_Pathetic __and_ _stupid_, Kitsune thought suppressing a dry laugh.

A sudden, high-pitched whirring noise resonated throughout the air, and what appeared to be a large hoverboard descended from the clouded sky. The board darted towards Kitsune's target, and the latter hopped onto it as it reached his side. He pulled the daughter on with him, and his guard followed suit.

Kitsune increased his speed and prepared to throw his knife at them without caring who he hit. His preparation ended abruptly, however, as a yellow disk shot out from above his head and hurtled towards the escaping hoverboard. The disk made contact with one of the men riding the board and effectively knocked the said man off of his feet. The man tumbled to the ground and hit the dock with a loud thud as the hoverboard disappeared into the distance.

Kitsune reached the fallen man first and blinked expressionlessly as he realized that the fallen man was not his target. He bent down close to the groaning man and studied his pained face.

"You were acquainted with my target." Kitsune stated simply as his hand drifted towards the man's hand; he grabbed the man's pinky between his fingertips and applied pressure, "It wouldn't be too much for me to assume that you know where he's gone off to, would it?"

"I-I don't know!" the man whimpered, despite the fact that Kitsune had yet to deal him any real pain.

Kitsune glowered at him and prepared to draw his blade out. His preparation was, however, cut short once more as he was forcefully tackled to the side by a flash of yellow. He then found himself being pinned down by an angry female adolescent who was making wild grabs for his mask. Kitsune quickly knocked her back with his feet and came to a stand.

The six people whom he had encountered at the bank now stood before him. In fact, the only thing separating them was the groaning, fallen man. The open sea behind him prevented Kitsune's escape.

Kitsune narrowed his eyes as the yellow-suited woman came to a stand and glared at him hotly. He reached for his katana and grasped its hilt. Six people, six slashes — five slashes maybe, if they were angled correctly.

"Man," the reptile-suited adolescent murmured loudly under his breath, "is this going to be our first hero versus anti-hero showdown?... Sweet!"

Kitsune briefly wondered whether or not the reptile-suited adolescent was on drugs.

"How about we not fight with the guy who practically took out an entire gang at the bank last week?" the green-suited man suggested.

"How about we just go kick his ass?" the yellow-suited woman scowled, punching her hand into her palm.

Yes, five slashes would do.

"Wait!" the purple-suited adolescent shouted as he stepped forward.

Kitsune felt his head swarm again, and it took everything in his power not to take a step backwards.

"Kitsune," the boy continued, "look, it seems as if we're after the same guy. Why don't we just work together?"

"What?!" the yellow-suited and green-suited adolescents shouted in unison.

Kitsune wasn't the least bit surprised. The boy was young and an idelaist — optimistic. Naive. Despite this fact, Kitsune mulled over the proposal. He weighed his pros and cons carefully. How would working with the six of them benefit him? He calculated zero benefits.

"Baymax here can track the guy that we're both after," the boy continued, gesturing towards the large, red man (?) behind him.

Kitsune paused.

There was one benefit in the bag.

He glanced at the red man and then at the other five poised around him. He had two options: knockout/eliminate the extra five and force the big red guy to track down his target, or work together with them. The choice that was most logical and equipped with the least amount of complications was obvious.

Despite this obvious choice, Kitsune found himself sheathing his blade.

* * *

Next Chapter: _Tomodachi_ (友達)

∟ "Friend"

"_Kitsune found himself walking down one of the many hallways in the Robotics building of San Fransokyo University..._

_He stared disinterestedly at the many doors that lined the halls. Silver nameplates were nailed to each and every door, and they glistened in the dim light. He read each and every name and even mocked some of the odd sounding ones. But then he saw a name that made his _

_stomach do an odd flip._

_He stopped by the door that held this name and stared at the nameplate intently. It read - _

_Hamada Tadashi._"

* * *

**A/N**: Alright, next big opinion question - are there any pairings you would like to see appear in this fic?

Also, I think I'm going to probs update this fic twice or thrice a week if I can - twice being on Tuesdays and Thursdays and thrice being on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

I already have the next chapter already finished and I'm working on chapter five right now. At the rate this is going, I think the big reveal will happen in chapter seven. Huzzuh!

Thanks to all those who followed, favorited, and reviewed! Thanks especially to Candy 3314 for her input . And a big yes to Tsuchi-kun about the fanart thing!

I hope you guys continue to review! Reading them motivates me to write more!


	4. Friend

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Fourth Encounter_: Tomodachi (友達)

∟ "Friend"

* * *

Hiro's heart skipped a beat and a relieved smile washed over his face as he saw Kitsune sheathed his blade. Why Hiro wanted to work together with Kitsune so badly, he himself didn't exactly know. On the other hand, Hiro most definitely did know why Gogo rued even the thought of working with the masked man.

"You have got to be kidding me." Gogo scoffed, crossing her arms, before she angrily jerked her thumb in Kitsune's direction. "I am _not_ working with a guy who wouldn't hesitate to slash a person to bits!"

"Aw, come on, Gogo, be nice. We must give him a chance, at least." Honey smiled lightly from behind her as she stepped forward and extended her hand towards Kitsune. "I'm Honey Lemon."

Kitsune didn't move to take her hand but stared at it (or seemed to stare at it — it was hard to tell since his expression was hidden away beneath his mask) like it was an alien object. Seeing this, Honey stepped forward, took Kitsune's hand into her own,and shook it enthusiastically. Kitsune's hand was tense, awkward, and cold in her grip.

Honey smiled even brighter and stepped backwards, signaling the others with a slight tilt of her head to introduce themselves. There was a tense moment of awkwardness. In the moment following, Wasabi stepped forward and extended his hand as well.

"They call me Wasabi. Don't ask why" he introduced himself with a joke, lowering his hand when he realized that Kitsune wasn't taking it. The green-suited adolescent man swore that he saw Kitsune raise an eyebrow at the name from beneath his mask.

"It's Gogo." Gogo nodded, glaring at him darkly. "No need to memorize it."

"Yo, my anti-hero dude-friend," Fred drew slowly with his arms waving wildly about. "They call me Fredzillaaa."

Kitsune took a step backwards, crossing his arms in the process. Gogo snickered at the sight.

"My name's Hiro," Hiro gestured to himself, before thumbing back and pointing towards Baymax, "and this is Baymax, my robot."

Kitsune visibly started at the introduction, but the movement escaped notice.

There was another long pause of awkward silence.

All six heroes stared at the anti-hero expectantly; and he stared back at them expectantly.

"Well, Fox-face," Gogo raised an eyebrow, "are you going to introduce yourself or are you too cool to do that too?"

"Mr. Kitsune," came Baymax's mechanical voice, "I am having difficulty clearly scanning your biological profile. Have you, by chance, been taking any biologically-altering medication?"

"I'm getting tired of this child's play," Kitsune finally spoke, ignoring the robot's question and causing the five human heroes to start with surprise.

The masked man's voice was deep and somewhat raspy, like he hadn't spoken in a very long time. Despite this fact, all six members of the team found that his voice gave them an odd sensation of... de ja vu.

"The only reason I'm even remotely standing your presence is because your robot will benefit me." Kitsune continued. "The longer we draw this out, the farther my target is getting away."

"Should you really be saying that to the person who owns the robot?" Hiro asked snarkily.

"I could always take the robot for myself." Kitsune suggested back, his voice gaining a dark edge.

"I'd like to see you try." Gogo smirked.

"Woah, guys!" Wasabi intervened, waving his hands up high. "We're on the same team, remember? Let's just hurry up and catch the bad guy and save that little girl!"

Another awkward pause of silence passed.

"Aight, Baymax," Hiro nodded upwards towards the robot, "where is the perp at?"

The robot straightened himself up and his eyes lit up with brightness. He cocked his head to the left, before turning to look down at Hiro. Hiro blinked back up at him expectantly.

"You are so short and squishy, Hiro." the robot giggled suddenly.

"...the fuck." Kitsune deadpanned.

"Oh no…" Hiro sighed, rubbing his temples.

"He's low on power _again_…?" Honey Lemon frowned worriedly.

"Hiro, I am running low on power." came Baymax's stuttering confirmation.

"Didn't you charge him?" Gogo frowned unimpressed.

"I charged him this morning!" Hiro sighed with exasperation as he helped to support Baymax's swaying form. "He shouldn't be drained out _now_..."

"Is there a problem?" Kitsune questioned, sounding evidently displeased with the current situation.

"If you want to catch your 'target'," Hiro explained with the hint of snarkiness still evident in his voice, "we're going to have to go and recharge Baymax."

Kitsune didn't reply; instead, an air of hostility and irritation arose around him.

"It's cool, guys," Fred pipped as he dug into his suit and pulled out his cellphone, "I'll just call my butler and tell him to pick us up." He turned towards Hiro as he placed his cell to his ear, "So is the charger-thingy-mi-doo at the university or your house?"

Hiro answered positive at the former.

"You should call the cops while your at it," Gogo nodded at him, before she nodded back at the dockyard, "so they can pick up this," she kicked the groaning guard's body, "and the other unconscious freaks back there."

Fred nodded with an easy smile — a smile which brightened when his butler apparently answered his call.

Needless to say, it was the most awkward limo-ride in existence.

* * *

When the limo came to a stop at the doors of San Fransokyo's Robotics building, the doors to the vehicle literally flew open. The passengers filed out of the car quickly and quietly, coming to a stop before the building's stairs.

Fred knocked on the limo's window to signal it to leave, and it sped away into the darkening day.

"Welcome to nerd school," Hiro gestured widely with his free hand that was supporting Baymax's slumping form.

Kitsune didn't reply.

It appeared as if he was completely captured by the sight of the structure. This fact made a little feeling of pride bud in the students' hearts.

"I guess we can quickly show you around if you want, while Baymax is charging." Hiro continued, crossing his one free arm and raising his eyebrows at the masked man.

Kitsune continued to stare at the building unmovingly.

"Hey, earth to Fox-face." Gogo frowned, waving her hand in front of his face.

He didn't respond. Finding himself filled with sudden worry, Hiro stepped forward and grabbed Kitsune's arm. He gave him a hard shake and jumped back with surprise as Kitsune recoiled.

"Don't touch me." Kitsune snapped; he then nodded his head towards the building. "Hurry up and charge your machinery."

"Jeez," Hiro scowled, "someone sure is moody today."

With that, the group of seven ascended the stairs and entered the building. Once inside, Hiro (with Wasabi's help of course) carried Baymax to his designated room to recharge him; and Honey ran to her lab table to quickly replenish her chemical formula bubbles; which left Fred and Gogo the responsibility of keeping an eye on Kitsune.

The said masked-man was currently leaning against a wall with crossed arms. Annoyance radiated from him in waves.

"Sooo," Fred drew out slowly as he spun in an equally slow circle, "aren't you cold or something?" He was eyeing Kitsune's sleeveless, white Chinese shirt with raised eyebrows.

Kitsune, of course, didn't answer.

"Where did you get those sick scars from?" Fred continued, gesturing towards the burns that ate up Kitsune's arm. "Is it like a top-secret origin story kind of deal?"

No answer again.

"Do you have a team?"

No answer.

"Have you ever killed anyone before?"

"Do you really want to find out." Kitsune stated coolly, turning to pointedly glare at Fred.

"Uh," Fred smiled easily, "well yeah. That's why I asked, dude."

Kitsune pointedly glared at him again, but the glare seemed to fly right over Fred's head.

"Hey, you don't happen to know Yokai, do you?" Fred tried again after a minute of silence. "Y'know, Professor Callaughan?"

Kitsune started at the name and unfolded his arms.

"I mean, he had the same kabuki-mask-theme going on as you do," Fred continued. "It's a shame that he went all evil and stuff. He was my favorite teacher at this school."

"Really." was Kitsune's reply. The curtness of it betrayed the spark of interest in his eye.

* * *

Honey Lemon smiled with satisfaction as she filled up the last vial of her chemical set. She inserted the vial into a slot in her purse and snapped the purse close. She turned and began to leave the laboratory room when a sudden noise from the opposite direction made her pause. She tilted her head and realized that the sound was coming from behind the locker room door that rested at the very back of the laboratory. She approached it slowly and cracked it open.

Under the dim, flickering lights of the room sat Kitsune on a wooden bench. He was holding something pointed and tube-like in the air with his left hand. The tube was filled with a clear, blue-colored substance. He slowly inserted the tube's needle-like end into his arm.

Honey Lemon recalled seeing such a substance from somewhere before — although, she didn't quite remember where. She did, however, remember what the substance was and what it did.

She pushed the door open and entered the room, allowing the door to close fully behind her. She watched as the masked-man turned his head in her direction.

"So…" she whispered quietly, clasping her hands together, "so… that's how you were able to catch Gogo's disks. You're using biological and physical enhancements..."

Kitsune turned his eyes back towards the syringe he was holding and pressed down on the lever. The blue liquid dissipated downwards.

"Using those is really dangerous!" Honey Lemon continued, her eyebrows furrowing with worry. "You could overdose and...die."

"I'm careful." Kitsune finally replied as he pulled the now empty syringe out of his forearm and placed it down beside him.

"Why do you use it for…?" Honey questioned quietly, her gaze falling to the floor. "You seem plenty skilled already."

"I'm not _physically_ strong enough." Kitsune replied in monotone. He shivered visibly, and it was evident that the drug was beginning to take effect. "It's for survival."

"Surviving..." Honey frowned, "but what about living?"

"Is there a difference?"

* * *

Kitsune found himself walking down one of the many hallways in the building. He wouldn't ever admit that he was lost, but he was lost. He stared disinterestedly at the many doors that lined the hall. Silver nameplates were nailed to each and every door, and they glistened in the dim light. He read each and every name and even mocked some of the odd-sounding ones. But then hecame across a name that made his stomach do an odd flip.

He stopped by the door that held this name and stared at the nameplate intently. It read — Hamada Tadashi.

He suddenly felt sick to his stomach. He hadn't felt so uneasy in such a long time. Pushing this uneasiness aside, he reached for the doorknob. Before he could turn the knob and open the door, however, he found himself being grasped on the wrist by a yellow-gloved hand.

He blinked upwards and registered the person known as 'Gogo" glaring at him. He stared back at her blankly from behind his mask.

"That was a very long 'bathroom break'." she glared, making air quotes with her fingers. She paused and glanced at the door he had been about to open. Her gaze then softened and became melancholy. "Let's go see if Baymax is done charging yet." she finally said.

Baymax was indeed done charging. In fact, he was practically up and ready to go. He, along with all the others, were waiting outside when Kitsune and Gogo finally exited the building.

"Yo!" Fred waved at them loosely and with his usual easy smile. "Join the party, man!"

"Yeah, guys!" Wasabi nodded in agreement. "We need to hurry up and go rescue that poor girl!"

"If it's the girl you're worried about," Kitsune glowered, side-glancing at Wasabi as he descended the stairs, "Pierce won't harm her."

"Yeah?" Gogo scoffed from beside him. "And how do you know that, genius?"

"It was obvious." he replied. "He was too weak to pull the trigger. If I were him, I would've at least shot her leg to make my point."

"You're really messed up, y'know that?" Hiro rhetorically questioned with a raised eyebrow. He then turned his head towards Baymax who was idly standing beside him and gazing at the sky. "You've got a lock on Pierce right, Baymax?"

"Yes, Hiro," Baymax nodded in confirmation, "but Mr. Pierce is currently in motion, so I cannot confirm his location."

"Guess we'll have to chase him then." Hiro sighed as he hopped onto Baymax's back. Honey Lemon and Gogo climbed up the robot's back as well and flanked Hiro at his sides.

Kitsune stared at the sight with slight surprise. This surprise grew as he saw Baymax reach over to loosely hold Wasabi and Fred in his large hands.

"What are you doing exactly." he deadpanned again.

"Well, we're not going to walk all the way there." Hiro answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "And we definitely aren't taking the bus either. And Baymax can fly." He gestured behind him, "Here, Kitsune, you can sit behind me — you'll have to hold on tight though."

"I'd rather slit my own throat." Kitsune replied simply as he turned to leave.

Hiro rolled his eyes and smirked; and the next moment saw to Kitsune being scooped up in Baymax's arms. Without skipping a beat, Baymax activated his thrusters with Hiro's guidance and the team of seven took off to the sky.

The darkening horizon unfolded before them and sunk below them as they rose higher and higher into the air. Wind whipped forcefully at their faces, so much so that Kitsune's mask began to slip off. He made a grab for it and forcefully clamped it to his face. He soon realized that the knot holding it in place had unraveled. He remained in that god-awful and uncomfortable position for the remainder of the flight.

* * *

Baymax came to a slow and descended as a rickety old warehouse that rested on one San Franksokyo's more unknown bays came into view. His scanners indicated that Pierce was located just within the warehouse, but they also indicated something a bit more disturbing.

He alighted onto the ground and released the three adolescents he had been holding in his grip. The three who sat on his back quickly climbed their way down.

"Hiro—" he began, before a retching sound cut him off short.

He turned his eyes towards the masked vigilante who was currently bent over and emptying his stomach contents onto the floor. The other five adolescents were laughing loudly at the sight.

"So," Gogo cackled as she held her stomach tightly, "the high-and-mighty anti-hero can't stomach a little air drift, huh?"

"Air drift?" Kitsune scoffed, his voice suddenly sounding warmer than it previously was. "That was like riding a roller coaster to hell!"

Everyone laughed even harder — everyone save for yellow-suited adolescent froze as he spoke those words, and she stared at him with both surprise and suspicion.

"Would you like for me to provide you with some gastral relaxants?" Baymax suggested as he approached Kitsune.

Said Kitsune immediately straightened himself up and went to retighten his mask to his face. His hands dropped back to his sides, marking the return of his cold and formal aura.

"Is it safe for me to assume that my target is inside this warehouse." Kitsune deadpanned in his strange way again, his gaze drifting towards Baymax.

"That is correct," Baymax confirmed. "My scanners indicate that Pierce is indeed inside the warehouse. My scanners also indicate two other life signatures within the warehouse. Hiro, I am worried."

"Worried about what?" Hiro laughed. "One of those life signatures must belong to Kenji's daughter… The other one must be another guard or something, but we can take him!"

"It is not that Hiro." Baymax answered. "There are other biological signatures in the warehouse as well. Ten in all."

"No worries, man!" Fred laughed from beside him. "We can take a whole army of them!"

"I sense ten biological signatures," Baymax repeated, "but only three life signatures."

"What is that supposed to…"

Then it dawned on them all.

Kitsune immediately began to sprint towards the warehouse, ignoring the warnings and protests of the other six. He reached the large, double doors of the rickety structure and kicked them open just as the other six reached his side.

It was dark in the warehouse; and it took several seconds for their eyes to adjust to the darkness. What lay in the darkness was what a sane person would equate to a nightmare. There wasn't any blood, per se. In fact, no corpses littered the floor at all. The corpses were hanging high above their heads by metal-wired nooses.

"Oh my…" Honey Lemon whispered, tears beginning to fill her eyes. "These poor people…"

Wasabi swallowed the bile that was rising in his throat.

"What…" Hiro muttered. "What happened here?"

Kitsune stepped forward and approached one of the hanging corpses. He reached into his belt and pulled out a throwing knife. He aimed the knife just above the corpse's head and threw. The corpse collapsed with a sickening thud to the ground.

(Honey and Hiro tried to ignore the fact that he was treating the corpse as if it were mere ragdoll.)

"W-What are you doing?!" Gogo hissed.

Kitsune approached the fallen corpse, turned it on its back, and stared at what appeared to be its face. The other six followed his gaze and realized that the corpse was wearing a mask.

Gogo ran forward, grabbed Kitsune by the scruff, and shook him with all the strength in her body. Her eyes were burning, and her heart was burning. The former was burning with held back tears, while the latter was burning with rage.

"You did this!" she shouted, throwing him to the ground.

Kitsune quickly stood up and bent over to remove the mask from the corpse's face.

"I didn't do this." he stated simply, holding the mask up for them to see. Under his breath, he muttered a single word: "Hebi…"

The mask had a far different design from his own. For one, the mask was dyed a completely red color coupled swirling black patterns. Secondly, the mask was fatter; and instead of having ears protruding from its top, it had two large fangs extending from its bottom. It was a snake mask.

"Oh yeah?" Gogo growled, unconvinced, "If it wasn't you, then who did it?"

Kitsune paused and then turned his head upwards, gazing up at the darkness of the ceiling. He sighed deeply and tiredly.

"Hebi." He called out loudly. "I know that you're here."

A unison of rattling sounds hit the air and three objects tumbled down from the ceiling, causing Honey Lemon to yelp in surprise. These three objects didn't hit the ground; rather, they swung suspended in the air by three separate metal wires. It soon became apparent that these three objects were not objects but people. Two of these people were letting out a string of incomprehensible cries and shouts, while the person who swung in-between them was cackling with laughter.

"Okay," Wasabi muttered, "what the actual fuck?"

"Look!" Fred shouted, pointing towards the two people swinging at the left and right. "It's Pierce and Kenji's daughter!"

"What are you doing here, Hebi?" Kitsune asked coldly. "This isn't your jurisdiction."

"You know this crazy chick!?"

"I know, I know!" the chain-swinging girl sighed pleasantly, as she swung side to side, bumping the two beside her. "But I finished my mission already, and I was sooo bored!" She began swinging back and forth — backwards towards the team and forwards towards Kitsune. "I was waiting for you to come here and finish your mission, but you took sooo long!" She swung forward enough so that she could gently pat Kitsune on the shoulder. "So I decided to wrap things up for yo—

She was cut off as a yellow disk spun through the air above her. This disk spun and spun, until it effectively cut the three wires suspending her and her 'hostages'. She collapsed on the ground with a thud, while Baymax caught Kenji's daughter and Wasabi caught Pierce.

The yellow disk spun around like a frisbee and returned to its owner's hand.

"So you're the bitch who did this," Gogo hissed as she re-equipped her disk.

The formerly wire-hanging girl came to a stand and brushed off the dust that had collected on her shirt. Said shirt perfectly resembled Kitsune's own shirt, save for the fact that it was red in color. Gogo noted this with growing anger.

The girl, Hebi, glowered at Gogo with her jaded green eyes that contrasted her dark hair and skin. Wasabi, Honey, and Hiro noted that she appeared to be around Hiro's own age.

"What?" Hebi scoffed as she rudely thumbed at them and blinked up at Kitsune. "You're with _these _people again, Kitsune? I'm jealous! It's like the loser crowd! This isn't like you!"

"Why?"

Hebi turned her brown head and blinked confusedly at the one who had asked the question. Hiro stood in her sights with his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

"Why?" he repeated again firmly, gazing directly into Hebi's eyes before he turned to look at Kitsune. "Are you with her?"

Kitsune didn't answer.

"'Why'?" Hebi laughed loudly after a long pause of silence. She turned towards Kitsune and hit him amicably in the chest as she wiped a tear from her eye. "Look at this brat, Kitsune! He's asking why I killed these people! Can you believe it?"

"Hebi," Kitsune muttered darkly, casting an iron grip on her shoulder, "you need to control yourself."

"Well, you brat," she grinned widely, evidently ignoring the pain, "I'll tell you why — I did it because I could!"

The air became chilled.

"Well, _that_ and because these people are the scum of the earth!" she cackled with a finish. "They're complete trash! I mean, look at them! They're thugs! They're murderers and rapists! Might as well kill them before they fuck things up for other people right, Kitsune?" She nudged Kitsune with her elbow. When she came to realize that Kitsune evidently was not going to reply to her query, she turned to face him in confusion: "Kitsune…?"

Her voice caught in her throat as she saw the cold and murderous glint hidden behind the eyeholes of Kitsune's mask. She swallowed her sudden fear, however, and glowered back at him.

"What's the matter with you?" she hissed as she slapped him in the chest. Her eyes widened suddenly, and she looked back at the six heroes who stood frozen in place. "Don't tell me that it's them, 'cause that's way too ironic to be real!"

"Don't be mistaken." he replied coolly. "I'm not disappointed that you've killed these people, Hebi. I'm disappointed that you've made such a mess with your missions that they have even been recorded with full evidence on the news. I'm disappointed that you've inserted yourself into my mission and complicated things."

Kitsune did his best to ignore the expressions of betrayal and disgust that he saw flash across the six heroes' faces.

"B-But!" Hebi pouted as she pointed back towards where Wasabi stood holding Pierce — both men visibly flinched. "I got answers out of him and everything already for you!"

"Did you now?" Kitsune questioned lightly, raising his head to follow her gesture. "I guess I can forgive you then."

"Hooray!" Hebi clapped her hands childishly as her expression brightened. "Alright, can we leave now then?"

"What makes you think that we're going to let you leave after all you've done?" Hiro muttered under his breath as he glared at the mask-wielding duo.

"Don't complicate things for yourself, Hiro." Kitsune replied. "I really hate complications."

Kitsune then reached into his pocket and pulled out a capsule-like object. He threw the object to the floor and a cloud of smoke erupted from its smashed remnants. The smoke cloud consumed the entire warehouse, leaving the five human heroes in a coughing mess. When the smoke cleared, the two animals were gone.

* * *

Next Chapter: _Hebi _(蛇)

∟ "Snake"

"_Hebi gripped the picture frame tightly in her palms. She was gripping it so hard that Hiro thought its glass covering would crack if she applied any more pressure._

'_Who is this guy in the picture?' she asked quietly, her voice coming out as a hiss; she pointed to a one of the smiling faces in the picture. 'Who is it?'_

_Hiro stared at the picture with a frown, before his eyes softened and burned. He didn't know why, but he decided to answer her question:_

'_That's my brother, Tadashi…'_

_Hebi whipped her head around and approached Hiro rapidly, causing him to nearly fall back onto his bed in surprise._

'_What?' He questioned, blinking away the tears that had formed in his eyes. 'What is it?'_

'_Stay away from Kitsune.' she stated simply. 'Don't ever go near him again!'._"

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so I got a lot of mixed answers about pairings… so I'll try to incorporate everyone's wants to the best of my ability.

And about the tumblr thing… I have an account, but I didn't draw the fanart actually XD - I wish I did, but I'm not that skilled. I was inspired by the fanart to write this fic tbh.

Also, updating this fic three times a week will be the death of me, so I'll stick with updating it twice a week. v u v;;. I'll probably be updating this fic on Tuesdays and Sundays or Wednesdays and Sundays - or at least I'll try to. I would have updated this fic on Wednesday, but I have to serve detention of Wednesday because I wore short socks instead of long socks at school (?). Idek. Anyways, next chappie will probably be up on Saturday or somethin'!

Anyways, thanks for all those who followed, favorited, and reviewed! Cookies and treats to all!

I hope you guys continue to review! Reading them motivates me to write more!


	5. Snake

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Fifth Encounter_: Hebi (蛇)

∟ "Snake"

* * *

It had only been several weeks since the warehouse hanging incident, but San Fransokyo seemed to have moved on already.

The night was dark but the streets were bright with life. In one of the more lifeless alleyways of San Franksokyo stood a young man and a young girl. If anyone was asked to explain what was going on between these two people with only a quick glance to go on, he or she would probably give an answer that was along the lines of 'the girl is obviously trying to drag the poor boy to the depths of hell'.

That was indeed what it looked like the girl was doing. The girl was wrapped around the man's left leg like a snake. The young man was trying to move forward, despite this fact, but was evidently making no progress at all with the deadweight.

"Kitsune," the girl whined as she tightened her grip on his leg, "I know that you're still mad at me!"

"Hebi, just let go of me." was the man's gruff and tired reply.

"Noo!" Hebi shouted. "Not until you convince me that you're not mad at me for scaring away your friends!"

"Your fear makes absolutely no sense, Hebi." Kitsune — having given up on trying to shake her off — said coolly as he looked down at her watering eyes. "For one, those children were not my friends. Secondly, I don't think I'm capable of anger at the level you're speaking of. Now, let me go."

She refused and shook her head fiercely.

"Is it safe to assume that your refusal means that you want me to slice your arms off with my sword." he deadpanned as he reached for the blade on his back.

"Huzzuh!" Hebi smiled as she released him from her cobra-like grip. "You're sounding like yourself again!"

"Don't bother me anymore unless you're dying." Kitsune glared as he removed his mask.

"But how can you ask me to not bother you when you have such a nice face?" Hebi questioned innocently; she paused and frowned crossly. "You're not going to go brood on a rooftop somewhere again, are you?"

He glared at her again and walked over to the dumpster that was lined up against the wall. He reached behind it and pulled out a duffel bag. From that duffel bag, he pulled out a black hoodie which he quickly slid on.

"You _are_ going to go brooding!" Hebi shouted, pointing an accusatory finger in his direction. "You have the emo hoodie and everything!" She paused again, narrowing her eyes. "You've been brooding a lot lately — ever since you met the big loser six!"

She scowled as he waved her off and exited the alley. It was evident that he hadn't even been listening to her.

Hebi didn't understand why in the world Kitsune was giving that group of six special treatment. The Kitsune she knew would have never agreed to work alongside a team — let alone aid them in some weird quasi-hero escapade. The Kitsune she knew wouldn't have even talked to the six of them!

She bit her lip and furrowed her eyebrows. Her gaze kept darkening and darkening, until a sudden idea crossed her mind.

The idea? She would figure out exactly why her Kitsune was so affected by the group of six!

The implementation of the idea? She would find and stalk them of course! Maybe beat some answers out of then if she could!

"You're a genius, Hebi!" she patted herself gleefully on the back. However, a sudden realization hit her and the gleefulness dissipated. "Wait, how the hell am I supposed to find them?"

* * *

Wasabi yawned and stretched as he flicked on the lights of the robotics laboratory. As usual, he was the first one belonging to the mentioned department to arrive at school. And as usual — or so he suspected — either Hiro or Gogo would be the last to arrive. Wasabi had actually been keeping tally of their lateness, and so far Gogo (ironically) had the most tally marks for tardiness.

He headed over towards where most of the machinery was placed and switched them. It took quite a while for the equipment to start up, so it had become practice for him to warm them up for the students who came in later. On his stroll towards the machinery, however, he nearly tripped over… a body?

"Fred," Wasabi sighed as he rubbed his eyes, "did you sleep here overnight again?"

Fred was sprawled out comfortably on the ground before him. Needless to say, Wasabi was impressed at how he had managed to make a make-shift bed out of a mere stack of notebooks.

"You don't understand, man," Fred grumbled as he rolled over in his 'bed', "this place has an amazing aura that charges up my mojo…" He began to nod off again.

"Hey," Wasabi nudged him gently with his foot, "you're gonna have a serious accident if you don't get up before the others start their work here. You'd better get up." He added in exasperation as he gestured around wildly: "Plus, look at this mess you made! You know I can't handle messes!"

"I'm zen though, Wasabi," Fred sighed contentedly, "zen!"

..."Your choice, boy." Wasabi sighed as he continued his stroll towards the machinery. He flicked the switches and turned all the knobs and watched as the machines sprung to life. The groaning noises emanating from their hard drives gave him life.

A sudden thumping sound emanating from the ceiling cut his reverie off short. He glanced up at the tiled ceiling and frowned.

"It was making those spooky thumpy sounds all night," Fred yawned as he sat up from his 'bed', having evidently decided to wake up. "I think there's a cat or something stuck in there or something."

"Huh," Wasabi nodded. "If it gets any worse, I'm probably going to have to call animal control or something."

There was another loud thump and a layer of dust rained down to the floor. The dust didn't remain the center of attention for long, however. The doors to the laboratory swung open and three figures entered the room. Two of these figures looked like they had been dragged out of hell and back, while the one other figure looked like she had gently alighted down from heaven.

"Good morning, Fred, Wasabi!" Honey greeted them cheerfully as she made her way over to her lab station.

"Morning!" Fred and Wasabi answered back in unison.

"Mornings are stupid." Hiro groaned as he stumbled into the laboratory and slumped into a nearby chair. "I mean, who invented mornings? Satan?"

"Even Satan would be more merciful than this." Gogo sighed as she slumped into the chair beside him.

"Well, you're looking very sunny this morning." Wasabi commented lightly. "Honey drag you guys out of bed?"

"Don't remind me…" Hiro groaned even louder.

"Where's Baymax?"

"I left him charging at home." Hiro answered, resting his eyes. "Saved him from the horror that is called waking up."

Wasabi suppressed a loud laugh. His choked down laugh was, however, overshadowed by another loud thumping sound above their heads.

"What the hell is that?" Gogo raised an eyebrow.

"It's probs a cat or something," Fred explained, glancing upwards. "Poor dude is trapped."

"Aw," Honey Lemon murmured as she glanced upwards, "we need to get the poor thing out of there!"

The thump resounded again, this time much louder than before.

"... that must be a very big cat then." Hiro blinked, straightening himself up to look at ceiling. He then added a bit more sarcastically: "Heads up, guys. A pet lion might just land on our laps in a couple of minutes."

The thumping echoed once more and was followed by another layer of dust… and a cracking noise. A crack had literally appeared on one of the ceiling's tiles. The crack grew and grew, until it collapsed on itself, and the tile gave way.

A humanoid form hit the ground, accompanied by small pieces of plaster and a long, iron rope. Once the debris settled, it became evident that the humanoid form had entangled itself in the rope that had fallen down with it. Closer inspection revealed that the humanoid form was someone that the five students were acquainted with.

"It's the mask girl!" Wasabi gasped, taking a step backwards.

"How the hell did she get there?!" Gogo shouted, coming to a stand. Hiro followed suit and approached the girl's fallen form.

"Shit, man," Fred gapped. "We probably should call animal control then, huh?"

"No!" came the girl's shout, as she struggled in her self-induced bindings. "I come in peace, you losers, I come in peace!"

All five adolescents stared at the squirming girl and began to wonder if she really was the one who had strangled all those people in the warehouse. Gogo began to approach the struggling girl from behind — she had her mind set on apprehending the snake. Unfortunately, just as Gogo was upon her, the girl burst from her bindings and swiftly recollected her metal wire in her palm.

"Now, listen up!" the girl shouted hotly with a flustered expression as she pointed her finger wildly in their directions. "I have some serious questions for you!" She paused and a confused expression crossed her face: "You guys _are_ the big loser six, right?"

"How did you find us?!" Gogo shouted, tensing.

"Wow!" the girl continued as she studied their faces closely. "You guys are all pretty attractive, y'know that? You should stop wearing those cliche masks! Maybe then I'll stop calling you the big loser six."

"You're… Hebi, right?" Hiro questioned in a dissonant tone. It was evident that his mind was racing.

"Correct!" she applauded him as she approached him and studied him carefully. "Wow, you're a total cutie! You look a lot like Kitsune too... Huh. Well, bingo for me!"

The other four started towards Hiro protectively and edged around the girl. Hiro, on the other, blushed profusely.

"Relax!" she cackled, observing their tenseness. "I'm not gonna kill you or attack you or anything — well, that is, as long as you decide to stay on the side of the law and justice… or something cliche like that!"

"And tell us why we shouldn't just take you down right now and throw your butt in jail?" Gogo asked darkly.

"What?" Hebi gapped innocently, twirling the metal wire in her hands. "Why would you throw me in jail? I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You _killed_ the people in the warehouse!" Gogo shot back.

"What?" Hebi scoffed. "That again? I told you — those guys were the worst of the worst! I was just keeping the city clean!"

"They were _people_." Hiro said calmly.

Hebi's bright nature dimmed suddenly, and she gazed at Hiro with lowered eyes. Hiro realized that there was something off in that look of hers. He had felt the same "off" thing when he had made eye-contact with Kitsune. Something was broken.

"Guys!" came a shout. "Watch out!"

Everyone — save for Hebi who simply looked around in confusion — ducked backwards. This uniform ducking motion was followed by an explosion of pink that erupted in the air. When the smoke cleared, Hebi found herself bound to the floor by a pink substance, while the others found themselves smirking at her struggling form.

"You must not be that bright if you think that you can just waltz into a science laboratory with little experience and not get hurt." Hiro grinned, shoving his hands into his pockets as he approached her. "Now, Hebi, you're going to answer _our_ questions."

"Sweet!" Fred whispered under his breath. "Our first villain interrogation!"

* * *

While that debacle was occurring at San Fransokyo University, Cass Hamada was busily working away in her coffee shop. It was rush hour, and she was having trouble keeping track of her orders and customers despite the help she was receiving from her newly hired workers.

"Ugh, wait, Stacy," Cass sighed as she nodded towards the said blonde waitress, "was order five-hundred, fifty a cappuccino or a mocha?"

"It was a mocha, Miss Hamada !" Stacy replied in a sing song voice as she scribbled the order of the customer she was talking too down.

"Thanks, hun." Cass thanked her. She quickly, but carefully whipped the beverage together and headed towards the designated table located at the far corner of the shop.

It was quite the daunting task — navigating through the crowded room. At that very moment, she decided that she would have to expand her cafe shop. Sure, it would be costly, but it would be worth it in the end. It would be worth not having to do an olympic trek just to deliver an order on a crowded day.

Cass was so caught up in her fantasy cafe shop that she walked right into one of her customers. The mocha coffee mug slid right off of the plaster plate it was riding on and splattered its contents onto the said customer's black hoodie.

"Oh, gosh!" Cass gasped as she awkwardly reached over to the table beside her to grab a napkin. "I am just so clumsy today, I—

Her words caught in the back of her throat as she glanced up and registered his face. Her customer stared back down at her with dark eyes that were underlined with bags.

"Ta—

"It's fine." he answered gruffly, shoving past her and heading towards the exit.

"T-Ta...dashi?" Cass finished, turning just in time to see the customer disappear out of the front door.

Her eyes began to water and her hands began to shake uncontrollably. The plaster plate slid from her grip like it was slippery ice. It fell to the floor and shattered to pieces just as she exited the shop and ranout onto the street.

The buzz of traffic and the chattering of crowds was disorienting for her at first, but she pushed past it and searched the sidewalk frantically. A flash of black appeared from the corner of her eye, and she turned her head.

There he was weaving his way in and out of the crowd. There. He. Was.

"Tadashi!" she cried as she dived into the crowd after him. "Tadashi!"

The noise of the pushing and shoving crowd must have drowned out her cries because he didn't turn to acknowledge her. It didn't matter. He was only a breadth hair away from her reach. Her fingers brushed against his back, and he turned.

Cass's heart slammed back and forth wildly in her rib cage.

He looked exactly like how she remembered him, albeit older and…and... The upper left half of his face was eaten away by stretched, pink skin. Burn marks. But something other than that jarred the memory she had of him. It was his eyes and the expression on his face. Cold, annoyed, apathetic.

He looked like her Tadashi; but, at the same time, he didn't resemble him at all. For that reason, she was taken aback and frozen in place.

"Ta…" her voice died.

"I said that it was fine." He snapped, glowering at her. With that he turned, shoving his hands into his pockets, and disappeared into the sea of the crowd.

Cass didn't quite know how long she stood there on the sidewalk, but the sun was touching down on the horizon when her employees rushed outside to find her.

* * *

"_I'll_ be the one asking you the questions!" Hebi retorted immediately — which, all in all, was quite humorous, looking at her position.

"Geez, you're feisty." Hiro grimaced. "How old are you anyways?"

Hebi quit her useless struggling and glanced up at Hiro as if he had just asked the most impossible question in the world.

"How old are _you_?" she shot back, her cheeks growing red. "You look like a toddler! Are you sure you should be going out in the field without any parental guidance?"

"Says the chubby-faced infant." Hiro snarkily retorted. "Don't struggle too much — you might soil your diapers."

"Ohhh!" Fred whooped from the side. "Buuuurn!"

"_Seriously_?" Gogo rolled her eyes. "Seriously."

"It's okay, dudes," Fred announced loudly, as he threw his hands up into the air. "I've seen so many police procedural dramas that questioning criminals is practically ingrained in my soul!"

Everyone watched as he ran to the corner of the room, picked up the silver lamp that was resting there, and carried it over to where Hebi stood entrapped. He flicked the lamp on and pointed its bulb directly at her face which caused her to wince and scowl.

"Get that shit out of my face," she threatened, "or I will end you!"

"Alright," Fred cracked his knuckles, as he shoved the lamp further into her face, "where were you when the crime was taking place?"

"What?" she gaped, before she turned to glare at Hiro. "Get him out of here."

"I'm joking! I'm joking, dudette." Fred laughed as he hit the lamp heftily.

"What." she gaped again. She then shook her head fiercely and glared at no one in particular. "If you don't let me go right this instant, Kitsune and the others are going to gut you!"

"So, you _are_ working with Kitsune." Hiro frowned. "What are you guys trying to accomplish?"

"That's not of your business, brat." she answered, lifting her head. "But," she lowered her head and glanced slyly to the side, "if you answer my questions, I'll maybe or maybe not answer some of your questions."

"There's no way—" Gogo began, before she was cut off by Hiro's affirmative answer. She began to protest but choked on her words when the girl asked her question—

"What are you guys planning to do to my Kitsune?"

"Uh, nothing? Apprehend him, I guess, if he takes things too far." Hiro replied quickly, before he proposed another question for her: "You said you're working with others. Who's your leader?"

"We don't have a leader." Hebi scoffed at the idea. "We're like a badass wolf pack of badassery, kind of like the Assassins from Assassin's Creed." She paused, her expression becoming thoughtful: "Well, I guess you could say Kitsune directs us sometimes, though that really depends on what mood everybody is in."

"Alright…"

"My turn." she grinned. "How did you guys meet Kitsune?"

"At the bank robbery five weeks ago." Wasabi provided.

"What's your goal?"

"To clear San Fransokyo's streets of trash." she snapped immediately as if the answer had been ingrained in her since birth. "Among other things…"

Her answer provoked a variety of reactions, ranging from disgust to sympathy.

"My turn," she grinned, "how are you and Kitsune related?"

"We have no relation." Hiro answered quickly, before he shot her with another question. "How did you and your 'pack of wolves' get together exactly? Was an invitation sent or something? 'Cause I obviously didn't receive it."

This time, Hebi didn't snap to answer the question. She mulled over her response, her eyes darting from left to right as she attempted to put her answer into words.

"Kitsune, the others, and I…" she drew slowly and slumping slightly. "... we were basically all in the same situation, kind of like a Battle Royale thing but not really. And in that situation we were all kind of forced together. It was really kind of fucked up, honestly."

"Wow, that was vaguer than vague." Gogo grimaced.

"But because of that situation," Hebi continued, despite the fact that they had not asked her to explain any further, "I became more of a badass and I met my Kitsune, so it wasn't too bad."

"Do you know where Kitsune and your other teammates are?" Hiro asked.

"Kitsune is probably brooding on a rooftop somewhere..." she smirked at the thought, before pausing to frown. "Hey, it's my turn to ask a question!"

"Shoot." Hiro shrugged.

"Why is Kitsune so interested in you guys?" She frowned, a look of jealousy crossing her face. "I mean, you aren't anything special or anything like that, are you?"

"Kitsune is interested in us?" Honey Lemon frowned. "But why?"

"That's what I'm asking you." Hebi spat back with a scowl. "It's not fair that I'm answering your questions fully, but you're not even answering any of mine!"

"Well," Hiro shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess that's all that we can get out of her, huh, Gogo?"

"I guess so," Gogo smirked from beside him. "We should turn her in to the cops then, huh?"

"Wait! Time out!" Hebi quivered at their taunts. "This isn't fair! I quit!"

Suddenly and abruptly, cracks began to appear on the pink cement that had formed around the encased girl. The cracks grew and grew until the pink encasement shattered into pieces, and pieces of the cement fell to the floor uselessly.

"Wha — how?!" Gogo gapped.

Realization dawned upon Honey Lemon. The girl must have been using the same time of physically-enhancing drugs Kitsune had been using. The thought made Honey sick to her stomach.

"I'm outta this dump!" Hebi cackled as she threw her metal wire up towards the ceiling where it latched onto a facet formed by the cracked ceiling tile.

Wasabi, Fred, and Gogo made a dive for her, but alas. With a tug of her wire, she shot up into the air and disappeared into the opening in the ceiling. Several loud thumps resounded after this event which was followed by a plethora of "ow"s. The sounds soon faded away and died out, leaving the five adolescents to stare at the gaping hole in the ceiling.

"Did that really just happen?"

Needless to say, it was quite the hassle to try and explain why there was a hole in the ceiling to the head of the Robotics department.

* * *

Hiro yawned tiredly as he entered his home slash cafe. The shop was closed by then and the employees had just finished cleaning up. As they exited the building, they told Hiro that his robot and his aunt were spending… quality bonding time together?

Hiro didn't quite understand. Maybe that was why he stood frozen in place and gaping for several minutes when he walked into his dining room and found Baymax and his aunt embracing each other.

"Uh," Hiro coughed, "am I missing something here?"

"Oh, hey, Hiro!" his aunt greeted him warmly, freeing one of her hands to wave at him. "Welcome home!"

"I repeat." Hiro raised an eyebrow as he tossed his bookbag on the floor. "Am I missing something here?"

"Your aunt was emotionally distressed." Baymax explained as he patted said aunt softly on the back. "A hug is the best remedy for emotional distress."

"Emotional distress?" Hiro frowned, glancing worriedly at his aunt. "Aunt Cass, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Oh, nothing!" Cass answered with a quick laugh. "Work is just really stressful lately! It's okay though — that's what stress eating is for!"

"Right…" Hiro nodded slowly, edging his way ever so slowly towards the staircase. "Well, can you send Baymax upstairs after you're done with your...er… hugging?"

"Sure, honey!" his aunt nodded nonchalantly, before she wiggled her head into Baymax's fluffy stomach. "My god, he's so squishy!"

"Well, yeah," Hiro rolled his eyes as he ascended the stairs, "he was designed to be."

Once Hiro was out of sight, Cass's bright expression dropped and she stared blankly at the floor. She had seen a ghost that day; and the very sight of the ghost had poked at a wound that had not even completely healed yet. Her chest felt heavy — so heavy that she felt like she was drowning.

Baymax hugged her even tighter.

* * *

Hiro opened the door to his room with a well-aimed kick. Light filtered into it immediately, filling up its dark emptiness. Shadows formed along the walls and stretched all the way to the window across the room.

The window as ajar, so he moved to close it. After he clasped it shut, he collapsed onto his bed with a heavy sigh. The sigh was eaten up by the silence that permeated throughout the room. He had never quite gotten used to the silence. He didn't think that he ever would.

His chest ached suddenly, so he rolled onto his stomach and let out another sigh. He wished Baymax would hurry up and come to his room—

"Wow, you sure have a nice room!"

Hiro screamed bloody murder and leapt from his bed, collapsing onto the floor in a heap. Sitting cross-legged next to where his head had just been at was none other than Hebi who was looking around in wonder.

"Wha?" Hiro stuttered uncomprehendingly. "H-How?!"

"I stalked you and climbed through the window, of course!" Hebi replied as she swung her legs off of the bed and came to a stand. "You're aunt down there seems really nice!"

Hiro's eye widened and he clenched his fists: "You better not—

"Don't worry!" Hebi waved him off. "Your aunt is way too nice for me to even remotely think of killing her. I have a strict criminals-only appetite, didn't you know?" She smiled a thin, snake-like smile at him.

"So," Hiro glowered at her, coming to a stand, "you do have morals."

"What are mora—

"What do you want?" Hiro hissed at her, glancing backwards at the doorway.

"You never answered my question back at the university!"

Hiro still didn't know how she had managed to find her way _there_ in the first place.

"Look," he grimaced, "I don't know anything about your Kitsune friend, alright?"

"Why is that part of your room blocked off for?" she asked, ignoring his statement and pointing towards the drawn shoji sliding doors.

"That's none of your business." Hiro stated coldly.

"What does this hat say?" she continued, holding up a navy baseball hat that she had swiped from his desk.

Hiro's eyes widened at the sight. He rushed at her, ripping the hat away from her grasp and holding it close to his chest. He glared at her darkly, causing her to flinch back.

"Jeez…" she muttered under her breath. "I was just asking. Typical moody, teenage boy."

...

Hebi really didn't understand why the boy was getting so flustered for. She hadn't attacked him or anything — not physically at least. In the end, she decided that his moodiness was the cause of his raging teenage hormones.

All she wanted to know was why Kitsune was so interested in him and his group. It wasn't like she had asked him anything personal or anything.

"Leave." he told her icily.

"Not until you answer my question!" Hebi shouted back hotly.

With that she stormed over to his table and began to look over his things. The boy immediately charged at her and began slapping her arm angrily in attempt to stop her from invading his privacy. She pushed him back and struggled for her right to invade, knocking over several objects that were laying on the desk in the process.

"Hey!" he shouted in protest.

Ignoring his hits and swipes, she bent down to pick up what had fallen.

It was a picture encased in a wooden frame. She held it in the light and observed the faces she saw there. The smiles of six people were captured in the photograph. The boy who was still currently hitting her was among the smiling faces. And…

...

Hebi gripped the picture frame tightly in her palms. She was gripping it so hard that Hiro thought that its glass covering would shatter if she applied any more pressure.

"Who is this guy in the picture?" she asked quietly, her voice coming out as a hiss; she pointed to a one of the smiling faces in the picture. "Who is it?"

Hiro stared at the picture with a frown, before his eyes softened and burned. He didn't know why, but he decided to answer her question:

"That's my brother: Tadashi…"

Hebi whipped her head around and approached Hiro rapidly, causing him to nearly fall back onto his bed in surprise.

"What?" He questioned stonily, blinking away the tears that had formed in his eyes. "What is it?"

Her eyes were flashing with a wide arrange of emotions — so many that Hiro couldn't even begin to count them all. She glowered over him and gritted her teeth.

"Stay away from Kitsune." she stated simply after a long pause of silence. "Don't ever go near him again."

With that she darted over to the window, pulled it open, and disappeared into the cold night.

* * *

Hebi had found her answer, the answer she had spent weeks searching for. She finally knew why her Kitsune was so affected by the six heroes. She finally knew why he acted so strangely whenever he was near them.

She ran along the low-hanging rooftops of San Fransokyo and nearly fell to her death thrice. She was unable to run in a straight line — her mind was being battered to death by her recent discovery.

"They're his _family._" she finally whispered under her breath, coming to a stop. The realization slapped her cold in the face.

She had to find him. She had to. She sprinted her way towards Kitsune's favorite "brooding building", not even stopping to catch her breath. Only when she reached the tallest and darkest building did she stop to bend over and pant her lungs out.

"What's up, Hebi?" came a deep voice.

Hebi glanced upwards, wiping the beads of sweat that had formed on her brow, and scowled as she registered none other than Usagi standing before her.

"I want to talk to Kitsune!" she growled, before she shook her head. "Why are you always hanging around Kitsune for anyways? Are you his boyfriend or something?"

"Kitsune isn't here." Usagi shrugged his large shoulders, stepping to the side to block the figure who was sitting at the edge of the building from her view.

"You're a terrible liar." Hebi scowled, squinting past him. She straightened herself, fixed her hair, and pushed him back lightly. "I need to have a deep and personal conversation with Kitsune if you'd excuse us."

Usagi shrugged, muttering something about Kitsune's brooding time, and left the two for themselves.

Hebi immediately hopped over to where Kitsune was sitting at the very edge of the rooftop. She plopped herself down beside him and gazed him intently. He wasn't wearing his mask.

"What is it, Hebi?"

Good, he wasn't in one of his brooding moods.

"Kitsune…" she drew slowly and carefully. "We're all a family, right…? You, me, Usagi, Neko, Sasori, Tako, and the others…"

"We're acquaintances." he answered. "We benefit each other, so we stick with each other. It's a means of survival... I would be lying if I said that you weren't the only one with a mindset like _that_."

Hebi pouted at the answer, but continued on anyways.

"Would you stick with us even if you found your… biological family?" she questioned, crossing and uncrossing her legs. "I mean… would you stick with us if you found out about your life before all of this?"

Kitsune turned to look at her with an unreadable expression. She blinked back at him expectantly, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.

"There would be no reason for me to go back." he finally answered, staring directly into her eyes. "The me now and the me then are two different people. Unless it would benefit me somehow, I would definitely not go back… Now stop asking stupid questions."

Hebi stared at him for a moment, before she pounced on him and pulled him into an awkward hug. She squeezed him tightly despite his evident discomfort.

"Never change, Kitsune, never change."

"If you don't let go of me now, I'll throw you off of this building. And I won't even come to your funeral."

Knowing that his threat could prove to be true, she released him; but not before he reached over to gently pat her head. The action surprised her and she glanced up at him. She wasn't sure if he was even conscious of the fact that he was making such a gesture — his gaze was far off.

Her heart felt warm and pained at the same time.

* * *

Next Chapter: Tengoku (天国)

∟"Paradise"

"_Fred didn't understand how things ended up like this. Things had been so good and smooth up until then. For one, they had finally made a friend of sorts of Kitsune. And they had successfully prevented the package from falling into the wrong hands via its destruction._

_But.. now…?_

'_I am telling you this because your psychological profile indicates that you would be less distressed than the others by this information.' came Baymax's steady voice. 'But my scanners indicate you are experience a large amount of emotional disturbance. I apologize for making you feel such disturbance.'_

_There was a long stretch of silence._

'_Baymax, my man,' Fred laughed nervously, 'if what you're showing me is the real deal… then that would mean… Kitsune is… Tadashi?_

_Things had gotten ten times better.'"_

* * *

**A/N**: Duhn duhn duhn. As promised, here is an update on Saturday! Unfortunately, I may not be able to update two chapters next week 'cause next week is super facking hectic, like I don't want to go to school anymore hectic. And to be honest, my motivation for writing is kind of dwindling cause of all the stress. I'll try my best though.

Anyways a big thanks to Silverbueroses (c;), Guest, Faller's Wings, Skitip, Guest (2), hetawholockvengerstuck, and oOShinahiOo (c:) for leaving a review! And another thanks to those who favorited and followed!

I hope you guys continue reviewing 'cause it makes me all warm and fuzzy inside whenever I read your reviews!


	6. Paradise ( I )

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Sixth Encounter_: Tengoku (天国), Ichii

∟ "Paradise ( I )"

* * *

_He was walking. _

_No, he was running._

_It hurt to run, but he was doing it anyways. Someone was in danger and he had to save that someone. To save that someone, he needed to run._

_The once white-washed walls around him were smeared with some grotesque color._

_Please be safe. Please be safe. Please be safe — such thoughts ran through his head. Each thought made his heart pound faster and faster. He was afraid his heart would burst then and there. But… even if it did, he would continue running. He had to._

_His shoes squeaked noisily on the slippery floors of the hall, but it was otherwise quiet. This quietness brought an insurmountable dread to his stomach. _

_There. A corner._

_He rounded it and entered a dark room. _

_He flicked the light switch on. _

_The room was red._

_Smoke was filtering into the room from some invisible gap in the wall. It's tendrils swirled around greedily, filling up all the spaces that it could._

_He felt like he was choking._

_Someone was standing at the very center of all this red and smoke. It was a girl no older than fourteen. It was a girl whose neck was dyed with a red that was slowly dribbling down the rest of her body. She was holding that red-flowing wound on her neck as she stared at him intently._

_He felt like he was choking so much that he couldn't breathe._

"_Why?" _

_He realized that he was holding a glass shard that was also dyed red at its tip. If he slid the glass shard into the slit at the side of her throat, it would fit perfectly. His eyes widened in horror at this realization, and he dropped the shard. It shattered noiselessly on the ground._

_He rushed to the bleeding girl's side as she collapsed onto the ground. Her body went into spasms, so he pulled her into a tight and loving cradle in an attempt to calm her shakes. He applied pressure to her wound, but it was to no avail. The blood wouldn't stop flowing._

"_Fight and survive." she whispered to him. _

_And then her face morphed. Her hair became darker, and her face became more angled. _

_He was now staring at the helpless face of a young boy who was begging him for something with his eyes._

"_Nii-san…" _

_No. Not Hiro. Please not Hiro. Hiro was his one and only—-_

* * *

Kitsune shot up immediately. He was drenched from head to toe in sweat. He panted heavily, his eyes rapidly darting this way and that in an attempt to identify the disorienting mess that surrounded him. Only when he realized that he was sitting on top of the roof of a tall building and not in a pool of blood did he steady his breath.

He cradled his head with his right hand and pulled his leg towards his chest. Rubbing his temple, he glanced up at the horizon where the sun was just beginning to rise. The sky around it was dyed an orange-red by the rising yellow disk.

He grimaced and realized that it wasn't just his head that was hurting. His hand drifted towards his chest, and he grasped it tightly.

"What the hell." he muttered under his breath. Why had that purple-suited boy invaded his dreams?

"Cat got your tongue, Kit?" came a seductive and accented drawl from behind.

Kitsune didn't need to turn to know who it was that was bothering him. He could already picture the tight bodysuit that was loosely covered up with an open, yellow kimono; and he could picture the smirking mouth below a cat-like mask.

"That phrase doesn't make sense in this context, Neko (*)."

"Geeze," came a click of the tongue, "always so nasty. Cat got your manners or somethin'?"

"Stop."

"Yeesh, doll." Neko sighed, feigned hurt evident in her voice. "I was just coming to tell ya' that techy, rich guy is in custody."

"Alistair Krei."

"Sure." Neko nodded half-heartedly. "_That_ guy…" There was a pause of silence, before she continued, "Do ya still wanna do the double-session thing with him and the crazy scientist guy?"

"Robert Callaghan. And yes I do."

"Sure." she sighed, brushing a strand of red hair to the side. "And how long is it goin' ta take you ta get crazy scientist guy? You don't even know where they're keepin' him locked up. Everyone else is growin' impatient."

"Does it look like I even remotely care." he deadpanned, turning to give her a pointed look. "I'm working on it."

"Kit, do ya' even have a plan?" Neko asked, examining her nails.

"I _am_ the one pulling the strings."

There was silence.

"Right." she smiled coyly, lowering her hand. "... by the way, I was wondering if you were goin' to handle the whole package issue with that amusement park. Y'know, the one that Pierce told Hebi about. If not, I'm going to do it myself, since I've got nothin' on my hands now — not even one damn odd job."

"No." Kitsune muttered, coming to a stand and turning to face her. "I'll handle this one. Killing two birds with one stone."

She could practically see him smirking beneath his mask. She hated when he did that.

"You'll never catch a cat if ya' keep smirking creepily to yourself like that."

"... I'm leaving."

* * *

Hiro Hamada stared at his laptop screen intently as he swirled around in the Robotic's building's most comfortable office chair. He clicked his tongue in annoyance and ruffled his hair as he continued to scroll down the website he was looking at. Something wasn't adding up.

A shadow crossed over his head, and his chair was leaned backwards and pushed forwards. Glancing up, Hiro found himself staring into Fred's relaxed gaze.

"Sup, little man." Fred greeted with a small salute. "You look like you're stressin'. You should ask Baymax to give you a massage or something, 'cause the guy gives the best massages ever."

"It's about the kabuki-masked people." Hiro informed him, as he turned his laptop around to show Fred the site he had been viewing. "Well, it's actually about the things that the masked people have been involved with."

"Oh, so you're doing extreme detective work then, huh? Cool." Fred questioned with raised eyebrows; he squinted at the screen. "So what is this about CASCO?"

"I think that the masked people are targeting CASCO for some reason." Hiro informed, as he turned his laptop around so he could continue scrolling. "I mean, if you look at the evidence it makes perfect sense. Edward Yamamoto, the CEO of CASCO, has gone missing… the ex-secretary of Kenji Brian who sponsors CASCO was targeted… and early today… Allistair Krei who had former business connections with CASCO was reported missing since Monday."

"Krei?! Dude, seriously?" Fred asked with raised eyebrows. "Man, we need help find him or something."

"But the main thing here is that CASCO is at the center of all this." Hiro frowned. "And then I got this tip off online about CASCO's relations with San Fransokyo's number one amusement park. Do you remember what Pierce said when we were taking him to the police? He kept talking about a 'package' that was being sent to San Fransokyo World."

"Okay, Hiro, San Fransokyo World is a rad amusement park and everything," Fred laughed lightly, "but I think we should really be focusing on catching these masked dudes if they keep hurting anymore people. And that's saying something 'cause I'm usually chill with everyone."

"That's not the point." Hiro brushed him off, turning his laptop to show Fred an article on the CASCO website. "Look here. CASCO recently bought the rights to the park!"

"Are you talkin' conspiracy?" Fred questioned, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows amicably. "'Cause I think you're talking conspiracy."

"... Unbelievable!" Hiro shouted exasperatedly, before he scowled intensely. "This is serious, Fred!"

"Has anyone told you that you're scary when you're obsessed with something?" Fred continued as he watched Hiro's expression darken. "'Cause you are freakin' scary when you're obsessed with something."

"Let's go tell the others!" Hiro shouted, ignoring his comment, grabbing his arm, and dragging him all the way to the laboratory room where said others were.

* * *

The group of six, all dressed in loose summer clothing, stood at the gates of San Fransokyo's greatest amusement park. The gates of it rose up way above their heads; and they could see its design perfectly, despite the fact that they were drowning in the middle of a large crowd. Above these gilded gates were words 'San Fransokyo World' which flashed with neon colors. Roller coasters and ferris wheels peaked up from just behind the gates, and screams of joy and surprise could be heard loud and clear.

"Sweet." Gogo commented, blowing a bubble.

"Did I ever mention how I can't stomach rollercoaster rides?" Wasabi questioned lightly.

"Who says we're going to ride on the rollercoasters? We're here to investigate." Hiro replied, contradicting the sparkle of excitement in his eyes.

"Oh, come on, Hiro!" Honey waved him off as she looped her arm around his. "We need to have a little fun once in a while!"

"Relaxing and engaging in outdoor activities are proven to improve one's mental health." Baymax added helpfully from the side.

"Party time!" Fred shouted at the top of his lungs, whipping out six amusement park tickets from his pocket and punching his fist into the air. "Booh yeah!"

With that, they made a beeline for the entrance booth.

* * *

Kitsune grunted as he made his landing. His ankle throbbed in pain, but he shook it off and observed his surroundings.

Behind him rose the protective walls of San Fransokyo World that were apparently meant to keep non-paying customers out. The walls had obviously failed at their job, seeing how he was now inside the amusement park without having paid a penny.

The amusement park in all its glory unfolded in the opposite direction. Roller coasters dappled in reds and blues and greens swirled along the skyline; and music and chatter filled the air. Children, adolescents, and adults walked along the dusty ground with either balloons or bags of food in their hands. They pointed excitedly to new attractions and food stations and laughed loudly amongst themselves.

Like always, Kitsune felt strangely disconnected from it all.

He brushed himself off and unstrapped his katana from his back. He quickly stashed the weapon away behind a large, metal disposal bin. He couldn't very well have security bothering him. It would just create more complications.

After that ordeal was done with, he stepped out from where he landed between two food stalls and merged with the strolling crowds of people. His eyes scanned the said crowd with scrutiny.

He was searching for the final variable that would help him effectively 'kill two birds with one stone'. He hoped that he had made his calculations correctly; because if he failed at this mission, he would be Neko's scratching pole for a whole month.

He suddenly shivered. Had he really just made a cat joke? Had he really just…? He shook his head and realized that he hadn't taken his injection of physical enhancements yet. Perhaps that was why he was so jumpy.

He prepared to slink back into the shadows and take the drugs when his needed variable suddenly appeared right before his eyes.

There the group of six heroes stood in all their glory — playing a fishing game. At first glance, it looked as if they were suffering from a losing streak. With closer inspection, however, it was evident that they — namely the one named Hiro who was smirking innocently (?) — were conning the booth runner right out of his prizes.

...

"That's enough!" the thick-mustached booth-runner shouted loudly as he slammed his fist down onto the countertop. "You brat! You're cheating!"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Hiro blinked innocently up at the booth-runner. "It was just a streak of luck… I can try again if you want! I'm sure I won't be so lucky next time..."

"Remind me to take you with me whenever I hit the casino." Fred whispered loudly beside him.

The comment made the booth-runner's already red face become even redder.

"Leave!" he shouted. "Now!"

"Okay, okay!" Hiro waved his hands up in the air with a 'defeated' sigh. "Fine, we'll leave!"

Hiro swallowed a snicker and allowed Wasabi and Honey to drag him away from the booth. Gogo was snickering quietly beside him, while Fred rambled on about how Hiro would make it big at a casino. Baymax, on the other, was quietly mumbling to himself about whether or not playing a fishing game would actually help him become a better health care companion.

"Hiro," Honey sighed as she guided him to a wooden bench that rested beneath a decorative tree, "you can't go around causing trouble like that. Right, Gogo?"

Gogo shrugged, calming her laughter.

"Yeah, Hiro," Wasabi frowned, "we could've been detained by the park cops."

"I don't see the problem with it." Hiro shrugged them off. "I mean, that booth guy _was _the one who started it. And there's no law against out-conning someone who is trying to con you."

"And you said that I was the one without morales."

The group of six, unsure of where the comment had come from, gazed at each other confusedly for a moment. Then, the speaker revealed himself — he had been leaning unnoticed behind the decorative tree. The five human members of the group straightened themselves, tensed, and started backwards with the revelation.

"Kitsune…" Gogo spat with narrowed eyes.

It was strange to see the masked man without his hefty katana strapped to his back. It almost looked as if a weight had been taken off of his shoulders. It was also strange for them to see him wearing a black long coat over his usual white Chinese shirt — one, because it made him looked sleeker; and two, because it was way too hot outside to be wearing such a thing.

"Yellow-suit girl." he acknowledged back, sliding his hands into his coat pockets.

"So you _are_ after CASCO… and the 'package'." Hiro frowned, before he smiled triumphantly. "I was right!"

"Of course you were right." Kitsune replied, glancing sideways to watch as child holding colorful balloons passed by his side. "I _was_ the one who told you about it."

Hiro and Fred quickly recalled the anonymous message Hiro had received that tipped them off about where CASCO was dabbling its funds in.

"Why… would you do that?" Hiro frowned again after a tense silence.

"I need your assistance." Kitsune answered slowly, turning to look at them again. "I need your assistance with destroying the package."

"And why would we help you?" Gogo scoffed, before she added sarcastically: "Like working together last time ended up so well."

"Don't you want to know what's in the package and why we're after CASCO?" Kitsune asked them back. He was strangely no longer using his monotone cadence. "I would normally do this on my own, but there are too many complications this time. My acquaintances are also caught up in their own things…"

Hiro mulled over the man's proposition. It was plain as day that the man had something else up his sleeve, but...

"Hiro," Wasabi frowned from beside him, "you can't seriously be thinking about—"

"I'm in." Hiro nodded, before he looked back at the others who were frowning at him. "I need to know this. I just need to." He paused, before he turned away and added: "You guys don't have to help if you don't want too. Baymax and I'll—

A hand touched his shoulder, cutting him off short. He turned and found himself blinking up at Wasabi's towering yet protective form.

"Dude," Wasabi frowned, "I think that your idea is a bad one, but I never said that I wouldn't be joining you on the downhill spiral." He smiled.

"That's right, Hiro," Honey smiled brightly as she bent over to meet his eyes, "we've got to stick together."

"We're like magnets." Gogo added sarcastically, betraying the fact that her lips were turned upwards.

"Wow, guys," Fred whispered in a booming voice from the side, "I think this is our second team pep chat! High five!" He raised his hands high up in the air and received a six-way high-five.

"Thanks, guys," Hiro began, before he was promptly cut off by Kitsune's snide tone—

"If you're done playing, I'll tell you where the package is going to be brought."

They turned to look at him with mixed expressions.

"The package is going to be brought backstage to the administrative department building of the park," he explained, un-pocketing his hands and crossing his arms. "There's heavy security, so I suggest you 'equip your gear'."

"So you're telling us you want us to take out security for you." Hiro concluded, eyebrows raised.

"I thought that was obvious."

Hiro studied Kitsune carefully, before his eyes caught onto a flash a blue and yellow that fluttered behind the man. Studying this flash for a moment, Hiro found a smile spreading across his face. He crossed his own arms and nodded to the fluttering flash of blue and yellow behind the man. When the others next to him saw the fluttering, they smiled as well.

"If you want our help," Hiro said steadily, "you're going to have to do it our way."

Kitsune turned his head.

Behind him fluttered a blue banner with yellow printed words. These words read 'Get a Free VIP Look at What Goes Behind San Fransokyo World! You will be able to Enjoy a Free Tour of the Administrative Offices of the Park if You Ride at least 5 Rides and Win 5 Games. 10 Winners Only.'

"I'd rather slit my own throat." was Kitsune's only comment.

* * *

They steadily climbed upwards with the clank of metal against metal ringing in their ears. The rays of the sun lashed out against their skin as they drew closer and closer towards it. And then they stopped their ascent. A cool airy breeze that could only be felt at the top of it brushed up against them, and the landscape below them became a blur of colors.

Then, the rollercoaster plummeted downwards.

Hiro, Gogo, Fred, and Honey Lemon threw up their arms and let out excited screams as wind whipped madly at their faces. Wasabi who sat alongside Fred was visibly sobbing in the two-seat compartment.

Hiro turned his head to look at his own compartment buddy. Said buddy was gripping the hand-bar tightly with one hand and his mask with the other. The awkward pose looked familiar for some strange reason.

The roller coaster finished its descent and came to glide along a line of tracks that were parallel to the ground. It slowed to a stop, and the sound of several metallic mechanisms clicking into place resounded in the air.

"You may now exit your compartments," came a mechanical voice. "If you are having difficulties exiting please wait in your seat for assistance."

Wasabi stumbled out of his compartment with Fred chuckling lightly behind him and patting him hard on the back. Gogo and Honey Lemon exited the compartment behind them, the former smiling contentedly and the latter throwing her hands up in the air and letting out an exhilarated scream. Hiro joined their sides with a whooping laugh, only later realizing that Kitsune hadn't joined them.

The fox-masked man was standing over by the guard railing. He was bent over and leaning against the rails for support. He was panting heavily and obviously trying to prevent his food from climbing up his throat.

Baymax, who had not been allowed on the coaster for safety reasons, moved away from the observatory bench he had been sitting on behind the railings and towards Kitsune slowly.

"My scanners indicate that the physiologically and biologically altering medication you have been taking has begun to clear from your bloodstream. You may soon experience withdrawal symptoms, if you have been taking the medication regularly or more than three times a day." came Baymax's winded diagnosis. "Would you like me to provide you with some—

"Seriously?" Gogo cut in with an unimpressed look as she slid into the scene. "Woman up. Where's your pride? "

There was a stretch of silence. The clacks and clangs of motorized rides intermingled with the chatter and shouts of the crowds around them and filled this silence—

"I don't mind throwing away my pride to get what I want."

Gogo froze as Kitsune gazed at her with an unreadable expression from behind his duo glowered at each other, until the others came around the corner and approached them. Fred reached them first and slung an arm around Gogo's shoulders. It was an arm that she tolerated very little.

"Dude, that was wicked." he laughed. "That makes three out of five rides. Our quest is almost completed. We should go on it again after we get this stuff over with."

"We still have to play two more booth games." Wasabi said pointedly, falling in place beside him.

"Don't you mean that we have to con our way through two more booth games?" Hiro smirked as he joined the gathered group. He side-glanced at Baymax to make sure that the robot was doing okay.

"Welcome back, Hiro and company." Baymax greeted politely as ever as Honey Lemon completed the circle.

This greeting was interrupted by Gogo slapping Hiro upside the head.

"Ow!" the boy shouted, rubbing the back of his head and glaring. "What was that for?"

"I am not going to risk being caught by cops," Gogo scowled, "just because you're a gambling addict."

"On a level of one to ten," Baymax pipped suddenly as his stomach flashed with an array of emoticons, "how would you rate your pain?"

"It's fine, it's fine." Hiro waved him off.

Kitsune stared at the scene unfolding before him. He tried his best to dissect it in an attempt to rationalize why the scene felt so familiar for him. And for a moment, he grasped the meaning of it—

And then his head split.

Searing pain ricocheted from the back of his neck to his temples. It spread like a fire from there, branching this way and that until it consumed his entire head. The smoke unfurling from the fire blurred his vision back.

He felt like he was choking.

"—stune?!"

And the world snapped like a whiplash back into place. The smoke cleared, and Kitsune found himself being drowned in hesitant, yet worried gazes. Some of the six that surrounded him were posed like they were about to touch him but they restrained themselves. He soon came to the conclusion that they were concerned with the fact that he had been standing with his hand clutching his forehead for five minutes straight. He hadn't even noticed.

"Are.." Honey Lemon tried slowly. "Are you okay?"

"On a level of one to ten," Baymax queried, "how would you rate your pai—" The robot suddenly paused as his scanners apparently picked up on something strange and perplexing. This pause, however, went by unnoticed.

"If you're not feeling up to it, you don't have to ride." Hiro said pointedly. "We'll handle the package for you and destroy it for you too after we go through whatever is that's inside it."

"No, don't be stupid." Kitsune stated simply. He turned away from them and began to walk — more like stagger — off. "I'll be back."

They watched as his silhouette disappeared into the crowd.

"I'm going to follow him." Honey Lemon murmured, tailing him before the others could stop her.

They watched as her silhouette disappeared into the crowd too.

Baymax welcomed the disruption. It allowed him mull over the biological-body scan data he had just retrieved from the masked man. The data that had been retrieved was clear and accurate — free from any medicicinal-biologically-altering variables — but the revelation of the data revealed something that brought up more questions. The scan from the masked man matched the first logged scan Baymax had ever made almost perfectly.

Something tugged at his core circuits; and he realized that he could not tell Hiro this information lest he choose to be an insufficient and ineffective health care provider and betray his creator.

* * *

Kitsune burst into the rest area room and stumbled to the solitary sink that was provided in the corner. He gripped the edges of the basin tightly, attempting to calm his heavy panting, and stared darkly into the mirror above the sink.

The room itself was gray, humid, and drab which didn't improve his condition in the least bit.

"Annoying."

He dug into a satchel that was hidden beneath his dark coat and pulled out a wrinkled plastic bag. In that plastic bag was a capped syringe that was filled with blue, clear liquid.

"You're addicted to it, aren't you?" came a light, pitying voice from behind.

Kitsune turned and saw the pink-suited woman from the corner of his eye.

"You're... destroying yourself." Honey said as she approached him cautiously.

"Well, that's ironic coming from you." he deadpanned, gazing at her reflection in the mirror. When she paused in confusion, he continued: "You like destroying things and watching things break apart. Why else would you enjoy pure, experimental chemistry. Danger and destruction excite you. I would be lying if I said otherwise."

She stared at him with a mixed expression as he finished his statement. She appeared to mull over something for a moment, before she approached him with clasped hands and a tight smile.

He watched her strange behavior cautiously.

"You might be right, Kitsune," she smiled brighter as she clasped his hands and wriggled the plastic bag away from him. She then dropped the plastic bag on the ground and smashed its contents to pieces with her high heel. After this matter was finished, she blinked back up at him: "Maybe I do find destruction rather fascinating."

Kitsune stared at the blue mess of shards and splatter that had once been a syringe. He stared and stared at for quite a long time, before he provided a response—

"...What the hell."

"Now, come on," Honey Lemon grinned, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose and grabbing his arm tightly, "let's go finish those rides!"

And she tugged him outside into the bright evening light. The question of how exactly he had known she had an affinity for chemistry remained unasked.

* * *

The bell chimed loudly as the metal puck slammed upwards against it. A plethora of cheers and whoops followed this sound. Passersby watched as six adolescents yelled loudly and performed a seven-way high-five in front of a neon-lit high striker.

"It's all in the physics." Gogo smirked as she hefted the large rubber hammer over her shoulder.

"And _that_ is why we never mess with Gogo." Kitsune interjected — it was evident that he was smiling under his mask. The comment — which would have been considered strange in a different situation — was met with chuckles.

"That's right." Gogo nodded, jokingly glancing at her nails in a professional manner. "So, that makes it our last game, huh?"

"Looks like it." Wasabi grinned.

"We still have to ride one more ride," Hiro grinned cheekily. "And I call dibs on choosing the next one."

"Oh no you don't." Kitsune deadpanned and crossed his arms. "We could be going on non-deadly rides, like a carousel or something, for the VIP access. I don't understand why you like having your breakfast coming up your throat for."

"I'm with him." Wasabi agreed.

"Oh come on, dudes," Fred said, "let the little man choose. Choosing for yourself is good, y'know?"`

"Besides," Hiro added with a snarky grin, "might as well enjoy ourselves while we can, right?"

"Unbelievable…" Kitsune muttered, facepalming.

Hiro froze at this statement and stared. Kitsune met his gaze.

"What?" Kitsune questioned, sounding defensive.

"N-nothing." Hiro shook his head and lowered his gaze. "It's just that… for a second there, you reminded me of someone that I used to know…" He covered up his pained expression with a brighter one and said: "Y'know, you're not so much of a jerk once I get to know you."

Kitsune stared back at Hiro for a moment. His head suddenly buzzed with static again and a sharp pain shot through his temple. He grunted and held his head.

The withdrawal symptoms were getting worse. He needed his injections or he'd become absolutely useless. Irritation flared up inside of him as the image of his cracked syringe resurfaced in his mind. Why had he let that woman slide so easily?

"Kitsune," came a voice, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine." he answered slowly, his voice dissonant and hard again. "Let's pick a ride so that we can move on."

* * *

**A/N**: So, I've decided to split Tengoku into two parts because it would be too long otherwise. It'd seriously be over 10k words. I'll uploud part two as quickly as I can though! Hopefully next week will be less stressful...

Anyways, thanks to all who favorited and followed.

An especially big thanks to **Alexisdeadddx** (Many thanks for your good wishes!), **oOShinahiOo **(Thanks for your input and good wishes!), **Guest 1** (Thanks for your support!), **Elsa the Night Fury **(Thanks for your support and encouragement!), **SeeSea19 **(Thanks for your good wishes!), **kid **(I'm feeling it too XD), **Random Reader 17** (Thanks for your support!), **Guest 2 **(Many thanks!), **Sky **(Thanks for your encouragement!), **Guest 3 **(Many, many thanks!), and **DisneyandWildKrattfangirl** (Thanks? xD) for reviewing!


	7. Paradise ( II )

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Seventh Encounter_: Tengoku (天国), Nii

∟ "Paradise ( II )"

* * *

Kitsune dragged his feet towards the platform that led to the roller coaster nicknamed "The Dead Python". It was quite the ironic name, seeing that it made people _feel_ dead instead of being dead itself. If he had been in a different position, he might have even laughed at it. Instead, all he felt was a bottomless pit of dread that was filled with nausea.

It was ridiculous how such an inanimate object made him so queasy. It just wasn't right. It was almost borderline pathetic. He needed to conquer this idiocy. But alas, the ride was not alive, so he couldn't beat it up nor could he maim and kill it. He could relish in his imagination, however.

"Uh, Kitsune?" Hiro tried lightly from behind. When the man didn't reply, he continued: "You're kind of _really_ holding up the line..."

The statement was undeniably true. The fox-masked stood at the very top of the spiraling stairwell that led to the compartment of the ride. He was frozen there, gripping the railings with sweating palms. Behind him, a long line of people were glaring, shouting, and scowling. He didn't understand why they were so eager to hop into a spiraling iron snake of death. He supposed that it was just in human nature to crave their own destruction.

Releasing his hold on the iron railings, Kitsune finally stepped forward and headed towards the closest compartment. Hiro trailed along behind him with a slight smirk.

"You really like torturing yourself, don't you?" The boy asked pleasantly.

Kitsune sent him a pointed glare which made Hiro smile all the more pleasantly. He slid into the compartment seat and scooted to the side so that Hiro could sit down beside him. They buckled themselves in and watched as the others of their group wandered to their own compartment seats. As soon as all of the booths were loaded, one of the conductors came to fasten and check the belts and holders.

"A little help over here," Kitsune called out to one of the conductors, causing Hiro to give him a strange look. The conductor walked over to where they sat and leaned over to fasten their seat belt for them. When the man left, Hiro saw Kitsune slide something into his pocket. Before he could ask him what it was, however, the mechanisms of the ride clicked into place and the roller coaster inched forward.

Hiro listened intently to the clacks and clangs of the wheels resounding against the tracks and stared up at the horizon. Half of the sun rested on the skyline, and it painted its surroundings in shades of orange and purple.

He shifted his gaze and found himself studying his booth buddy analytically. The man was not facing forward, but rather staring off to the side of the railings. The collar of his black coat billowed lightly in the updraft. Hiro's eyes trailed this collar and slowly traced the outline of the coat until they stopped at the hemming of the sleeve line.

"What is it?"

It was evident that Kitsune had noticed his staring and was curious enough to ask for the reason. His head was still turned when he asked the question, so Hiro had difficulty in understanding him. He managed though.

"Er," Hiro tried, averting his gaze, "I was just wondering where you got those... scars from. Not to be rude or anything — just wondering. You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

There was silence, and the roller coaster groaned in protest as it began to ascend a high curve. The silence dragged on as the coaster dragged upwards. Hiro began to regret asking the question and studied his hands awkwardly.

"... I don't remember." Came the vague answer in barely a whisper.

Hiro whipped his head up and stared at Kitsune in confusion. The man was still staring off into the distance — at least Hiro thought that he was. He couldn't really tell because the mask was obscuring his face.

"What do you mea—"

His words were cut off, because the coaster had reached its peak and was now hurtling downwards.

"—-aaaaahhhh!"

Despite the roar of the wind and the ring of his own screams in his ears, Hiro swore that he could hear Kitsune chanting under his breath. He supposed that he must have misheard, because the chant was—

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck"

The roller coaster reached ground level for barely a second, before it swung upwards and went along a vertical loop. Screams hit the air; and the chanted mantra became louder and more clipped—

"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."

Another loop came into view. This one was slanted at a forty-five degree angle.

"Fuck."

They hurtled towards it.

"Fuck."

* * *

As soon as the roller coaster clicked to a stop, Kitsune swiftly unfastened his seatbelt and stepped out of the booth. He strode over to the railings and leaned against them. He breathed deeply and sighed as his eyes scanned the crowded platform. His head was still spinning and his stomach still churning, making it rather difficult to focus.

His gaze locked onto Hiro's form; and he watched as Hiro leisurely exited the ride compartment and joined the others as they exited their own compartments. They laughed easily with one another — almost too easily. Whether that fact annoyed him or pleased him, he wasn't quite sure. What he was sure of was that he needed them on his side for now. He supposed that they must have seen him staring, because they all turned and waved him over.

"That was a nice detour." He said rather dryly as he approached them. "We can get the package now."

"_If_ we win the free tour." Wasabi commented pointedly.

"May the odds ever be in our favor." Gogo added with sarcasm as she blew a strand a stray hair away from her face.

"They better be." Kitsune muttered, crossing his arms. "This is already a big enough waste of time."

"How can having fun be a waste of time?" Honey Lemon grinned airily. "Especially since we've all... become closer with one another!"

Fred nodded ferociously in agreement, as if he was listening to a heated sermon instead of an off-handed comment. He solicited several stares from passersby, but he evidently didn't seem to care.

"Let's go." Kitsune said coolly, ignoring the two more positive members of the group. He turned and began making his way off of the ride platform without checking to see if they were behind him.

"The guy is really passive-aggressive, don't you think?" Hiro questioned with a smirk as he crossed his arms.

"I'm not too sure about the 'passive' part of that statement." Gogo frowned with a delicately raised eyebrow.

Hiro shrugged and eyed Kitsune's slowly shrinking back. Something about the broadness of that back was oddly familiar to the adolescent; and it drew a sharp pain in his heart, like a violin string being plucked. He shrugged this feeling off and trailed after the fox-masked man with the others following close behind him.

He soon caught up with Kitsune and fell into stride with the man.

"Where's your robot?" Kitsune asked, glancing down at him.

The asked question caused the others in the group to exchange looks of confusion.

"We left him by the centre map…" Hiro frowned, glancing at Kitsune. "_You_ were the one who recommended putting him there, so that he wouldn't draw attention attention to us — which I still think you were being too dramatic about."

"Oh." Kitsune frowned beneath his mask distractedly. "Right."

"You okay, man?" Fred asked from behind him. "You're kinda trippin' the trip."

"It doesn't matter." He brushed the two off, picking up his pace. He threw a glance over at Hiro and nodded rigidly at him: "I hope you have your equipment with you and a way to transport your robot into the administration office without getting noticed."

"Dude," Hiro frowned back at him with a cocked eyebrow as he quickened his pace, "you need to have a lot more faith in us than that."

Kitsune didn't reply, nor did he indicate that he had actually heard the statement. Hiro wasn't sure whether the man was just plain rude or simply 'not all there'.

The centre map — a large electronic billboard that displayed the locations of rides, food stalls, and game booths — soon loomed into view; Baymax sat on a bench right beside it and came to a stand as he registered the approach of the group of six. Hiro was at his side in an instant, the others — save for Kitsune who lingered behind and observed the scene with an odd eye of calculation — following behind him.

"How was your ride, Hiro?" Baymax questioned in his usual mechanical dictation.

"Pretty sweet." Hiro grinned, before his expression was taken over by a more serious one. "Anyways, we need to hurry and pack you up so that we can sneak you past security."

Baymax watched as Hiro began to dig through his jacket pocket. After doing this for several seconds, he tilted his head upwards to gaze at the man who stood far behind the adolescent. Said man was standing with crossed arms and with an air of aloofness and indifference about him.

"Here we are!" Hiro exclaimed as he pulled out a small and rectangular red box from his pocket. He pressed a node on the box and threw it to the ground. Rigid, parallel lines appeared on the box; and it unfolded itself along these lines, becoming larger and larger, until it became something that Baymax recognized. It was his charging stabilizer.

"Impressive." Kitsune nodded as he came to Hiro's side and stared at the box.

"Well, yeah." Hiro broke out into a proud grin. He reached into his other pocket and pulled out another box. This one was painted in varying shades of purple. "All of our suits are like this. On-the-go suits."

"You should make its activation simpler." Kitsune continued in deadpan. "It's complex activation, drains the battery, right?"

Hiro flinched and scowled: "Well, yeah, but I'm working on it!"

"What do you know about robotics anyways, Foxy?" Gogo scoffed jokingly from beside him.

There was a pause of silence.

"I know enough."

The answer was a bit off, like Kitsune wasn't even sure of what he was saying. It was a bit strange. The man had always seemed to radiate an aura of confidence and intimidation. The tone of his voice made it seem like his intimidating aura had never existed in the first place.

Gogo shrugged loosely at the answer and turned towards the general direction of the administration office. She watched from the corner of her eyes as Hiro guided Baymax into his charging conduit. She watched as the robot deflated and watched as the conduit swallowed him whole before shrinking back into its original, miniature size. She watched as Hiro shoved the box back into his pocket. She realized that she was doing a lot of watching, and she wasn't too sure why. Perhaps it was because she felt both very uneasy and comfortable at the same time. It was a strange feeling.

"Mission: Ultimatum Breaker — engage!" came a shout from right next to her ear, causing her to snap out of her reverie.

Fred was grinning excitedly beside her. Too excitedly. It was irritating. So, she punched him in the arm. That didn't seem to put an end to it, however, because he let out another incomprehensible shout and charged towards what he evidently thought to be the administrative offices.

"I'll go get him." Wasabi sighed from beside her.

Once Wasabi had managed to reign Fred back to the group, they started towards the offices with the sun sliding deeper into the night behind them.

* * *

By the time they reached the administrative office building — it had been located half-way across the entire park — Kitsune was only a few straws away from irritated. It didn't help that the secretary sitting at the receptionist desk was taking his time checking their ride-booth-bands. Said bands were supposedly designed to make the park run more efficiently by recording what games and what rides customers had been on. Evidently, it wasn't as efficient as the makers had planned, because the secretary was having difficulty matching the band data to the computer records.

"I'm sorry," he apologized for the upteenth time in a nasily voice, "the program is a bit slow."

"Oh," Honey Lemon smiled lightly from the other side of the desk, "it's fine. Really!"

Kitsune glowered at her. Her positivity was irritatingly infectious.

"Are you always so optimistic." He asked, trying to keep his voice as monotone as possible. It was getting strangely difficult for him to do so.

"There's no reason not to be." She smiled thinly back at him.

"There!" the secretary shouted, jabbing at a button on the keyboard in front of him. He looked up and smiled at the gathered six. "You're bands have been approved!" He placed the six bands that he had taken from them onto the counter and motioned for Honey to take them. She obliged and distributed the bands to their respected owners.

"So," Hiro pressed as he moved away from where he was tapping away at a guest computer in the corner of the room and up to the counter, "did we win?"

"Seeing that only two other people have applied for the tour excluding your group," the secretary replied thickly, "I would have to say yes."

The room broke out into cheers, and the second six-way high-five of the day was implemented. The secretary watched this commotion with a bored expression and gestured to a black, steel door on the other side of the room once the noise had died down.

"Enter the waiting room over there," the secretary nodded, "and your tour guide will be shortly with you."

They nodded and walked collectively towards the indicated door and entered the waiting room. Said room was surprisingly large and was lined with rows upon rows of chairs, two of which were occupied. Another black, metal door was located just across the room and most likely led to the deeper and more "official" offices of the department.

"I would like to say that I'm impressed with the size," Kitsune muttered, "but I would be lying."

"What?" Wasabi laughed. "Are you secretly some rich guy or somethin'?"

"That explains it!" Fred clapped his hands together. "You must be like Batman or Ironman — well, more like Batman since you've got that whole anti-hero thing going on."

"I'm just not impressed." Kitsune answered in monotone with a shrug.

"Okay, Classy Fox." Gogo rolled her eyes as she brushed past him and plopped loosely into one of the provided chairs.

Kitsune ignored her comment and allowed his gaze to drift towards the two who were not a part of their group. They would be a nuisance and an obstacle in his mission. A complication. How he hated complications. Brushing this fact aside, he made his way across the room and tried the door there. It was locked.

"We have to wait for a tour guide." came a deep and chastising tone from Complication One. "He'll bring the key to open the door."

Kitsune turned and sent said complication a cold, steely glare. This glaring expression turned into an expression of mild disbelief as he registered Honey, Fred, and Wasabi greeting both of the complications. Gogo, on the other hand, was still lounging easily in her chair; while Hiro… Hiro hung out awkwardly in the background and wore an uncomfortable smile. This uncomfortable smile lingered as Fred began the introductions—

"I'm Fred; occupation: college mascot."

"My name is Michael." Complication One introduced himself.

"Sarah…" Complication Two mumbled.

"Nice to meet you. I'm—" Wasabi began.

"He's called Wasabi." Fred interrupted him.

"It's a nickname." Wasabi explained with an exasperated sigh as he received a duo of strange looks.

"If we're going with nicknames," Honey Lemon smiled amiably, "mine is Honey Lemon."

"Gogo." Gogo waved back at them without actually turning to face them.

Silence fell. Kitsune narrowed his eyes at the sudden change in atmosphere and found himself approaching the conversing group. He also found himself nudging Hiro forward. Why he did such a thing, he wasn't quite sure. It just felt… natural. That or maybe it was because his head and stomach were still spinning. It was taking all of his willpower to control his shakes.

"I-I'm Hiro." Hiro finally introduced himself, glancing back at Kitsune with an expression of mixed gratefulness and confusion.

The two complications nodded and smiled, before they turned their heads towards Kitsune's rigid form. Kitsune simply stared back down at them, hoping that they felt the coldness seeping from his glare. Said glare was cut off by a sharp pain in his ribcage. Kitsune glanced downwards and saw that Hiro had nudged him the ribs.

"What."

Hiro sighed and rolled his eyes at the response, before he jerked his thumb backwards towards Kitsune and said: "This is Kitsune. He bites."

"Why is he wearing a mask?" Michael grimaced. "Is it Halloween or something?"

It took everything within the fox-faced man to not rip the man's throat out right then and there. Murdering would create complications, so Kitsune decided that he would settle with a quiet, snarky remark instead:

"Yes, but the only disturbing and horrifying thing here is you."

"What?" Complication One frowned.

"Nothing!" Wasabi coughed loudly, choking on a laugh. "Nothing at all!"

It was then that the door that they had entered from swung open and a sharp-looking man entered the room. He nodded at them and introduced himself as their tour guide. The group greeted the tour guide in a mostly warm manner and followed him to the locked door.

Kitsune watched as the man dug into his pockets and pulled out a ring of keys. The guide sorted through the allotted rings, selected one from the jumble of them, and inserted it into the keyhole in the door. A click resounded; and he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Before the guide could do anything else, however, Kitsune hit him hard on the crook of his neck. The guide hit the floor with a loud, resonating thud.

"What the hell?!" came the shrill shouts from the complications and some of the others.

"He's just unconscious." Kitsune said, bending down to search the unconscious tour guide's pockets. "The package should be located in the shipping containment room." He pulled out several slips of paper and shoved them into his pockets. Coming to a stand, he turned to gaze at the two complications and deadpanned: "Stay quiet yourselves or I'll make you."

Michael and Sarah nodded and swallowed.

"Okay, okay," Wasabi stepped in between Kitsune and the two wide-eyed bystanders, "we're in, but was it really necessary to knock out the nice tour guide?" He gestured to the drooling man.

"This route was faster and had less complications." Kitsune replied as he entered the hallway that lay behind the door.

"You and your complications." Hiro scowled.

"Please keep quiet about this," Honey Lemon whispered soothingly to the still wide-eyed duo, "we're honestly doing this to help." She received another affirmative nod which caused her to smile brightly.

With that, the remaining five entered the hallway and closed the door shut behind them. Sarah and Michael stared at the door for several long seconds, before they shakily began to head towards the door from which they came.

* * *

"You don't think that they'll alert anybody, do you?"

Wasabi asked such a question as he clicked the last clasp to his armored-gear to a close. He glanced up and realized that most of the others were too busy equipping their own armor to answer — especially Hiro who had freed Baymax from the red cube and was now trying to simultaneously equip his own armor, as well as Baymax's.

"No." Kitsune, who was leaning against one of the walls of the hall with crossed arms, answered with an underlying tone of impatience hidden beneath his voice. "The irrational fear of me coming after them will prevent them from speaking...The security camera feed," he pointed upwards with one hand to where a miniscule, black dot hovered on the wall, "might tip the guards off, on the other hand."

"I already replaced the security feed with a looped one." Hiro scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "Why do you think I was messing around with the guest computers in the secretary office for?"

"Impressive." Kitsune nodded. "What is not impressive is your ability to change quickly."

"It's harder than it looks." Gogo shot back as she fastened her helmet on. "You should just be glad that we don't have to take off all of our clothes to equip our gear. You'd have to see Fred in the nude otherwise."

"Nothin' wrong with bein' nude!" Fred sang back to her, before he whipped his head around and gestured vaguely at nothing. "Team Big Hero Six and Comany is ready to go!"

With that comment made, it became evident that everyone had successfully managed to equip their armaments. This fact pleased Kitsune, so much so that he uncrossed his arms and approached them.

"The door leading to the shipment room should be at the very end of the hall." Kitsune informed them. "Since the package is of high importance, there will probably be guards."

"No, problem." Gogo smirked, punching her gloved fist into her hand.

Kitsune nodded acknowledgingly at her and turned to lead them down the hall, before he was suddenly stopped by a grip on his wrist. He turned and saw Hiro frowning up at him.

"What."

"If you're going by a terms," Hiro replied steadily, "you can't kill any of the guards."

There was a pause of silence.

"Killing the guards in this situations would create too many complications anyways." Kitsune replied.

With that promising answer ringing in the air, the group of seven made their way down the hall. Fortunately, it didn't take them long to find the shipment room door. Unfortunately, when they reached the door, it became apparent that it was electronically locked. It required an identification card to open it.

"I guess I can have a crack at hacking it open." Hiro frowned with a tilted head.

Before the adolescent could continue, Kitsune dug into his pocket, pulled out a slender card from his pocket, and slid it across the slot next to the doorframe. There was a soft click and a woosh of air. The door was now open.

"Why do you think I asked the ride conductor to check my seatbelt for?" Was Kitsune's only response.

Hiro suppressed a laugh — which was quite a difficult feat, seeing that the others were quietly snickering behind him — and pushed the door open. The room lying behind the door was dimly lit and musty and unbelievably large. The dark outlines of large steel racks stacked with cardboard boxes seemed to stretch on for miles.

"Creepy." Wasabi commented.

"It could be worse." Honey Lemon replied pointedly.

Kitsune gently brushed past them and stepped into the darkness.

"Any idea where this package is?" Gogo grimaced.

Kitsune held up a finger and listened intently. It was a bit difficult because his head was spinning in a dizzying manner, but he could hear soft, muffled chatter emanating from deeper within the storage room.

"Do you hear that?" Gogo whispered from beside him, evidently having picked up on the whispered chattering as well.

He nodded in response and began to quietly tread towards the direction of the sound. The others followed quietly behind him — save for Baymax who was clanging rather noisily. The clanging wasn't too loud, however; and with Hiro's direction, the robot managed to walk along more quietly.

They drew nearer to an area of the shipment room that was lit more brightly that the rest of the room. Ducking behind a large, plastic-covered crate, the group of seven peered at the scene playing out beneath the light.

A group of men and women stood rigidly around a white table on top of which a silver case rested. Kitsune couldn't really see how many guards there were — his vision was beginning to become blurry.

"My scanners indicate that there are twelve guards total." Baymax chimed quietly from behind him.

"I'll take the closest two," Kitsune muttered, reaching under his mask to rub his eyes.

"Are you sure you're up for it?" Wasabi frowned worriedly beside him. "You don't sound too good."

"I'm fine." He whispered through gritted teeth.

"I'll take the two to the left." Gogo drew slowly as she side glanced at the fox-faced man.

"Baymax and I will take the two at the center." Hiro announced.

"Fredzilla will rampage on the dudes on the right."

"I'll take the two in the corner over there." Wasabi supplied.

"I guess that leaves the two at the very back for me then." Honey Lemon nodded. There was an odd glimmer of excitement in her eyes.

"On three." Hiro whispered under his breath. "One, two, three!"

…

Kitsune didn't understand what was happening. He couldn't think, see, or hear straight. His mind was cloudy, the world around him was a hazy, and a high-pitched ringing sound was resonating in his ears.

Worried faces loomed over him. And by gauging the angle at which they were looking at him, he quickly came to the conclusion that he was laying belly-up on the ground. He continued to gaze up at the faces in confusion; and only stirred into action when he saw the outline of a hand drift towards his face — his mask.

He shot up immediately, smacked the hand way, and pressed his mask against his face. It took him a while to notice that he was panting rather heavily.

"A-Are you okay?" came a barely discernable and worried voice. The words sounded muddled, like the person who had spoken them was underwater.

"What happened?" Kitsune finally managed to mutter.

Hiro's blurred and worried expression drifted into view.

"We were in the middle catching the guards off… guard." The adolescent explained. "Baymax and I had taken out our last guy, so we were going to see if we could help the others. And then you... you had already taken out one of your guys, but after that you kind of just stood there… The other guard whacked you in the head."

That explained the dull pain at the back of his neck.

"I recommend the application of soothing hot oil or aloe supplements on the head injury." came Baymax's warm tone.

Kitsune felt another blanket of heated confusion wrap itself around his mind. Why had he been fighting guards? Why had he been working with Hiro and the others for? Why was he here in the first place? Kitsune supposed that he must have asked some of his questions out loud, because he could see several members of the group exchanging looks.

"We're here for the package," Gogo frowned, "remember?"

Everything clicked into the place — the package. He needed to destroy it.

He shot up to a stand immediately, ignoring the warning protests of those who surrounded him, and approached the white table. He lunged at the silver case lying there and pulled it into his arms.

"Remember our deal?" came a testy question from behind.

Kitsune turned his head ever so slightly and saw the group of six staring at him warily from the corner of his eye. He turned to face them fully, shifting the case so that he could grip it tightly with his left hand.

"You said that you would let us see what was inside of the package," Hiro frowned, "if we helped you."

'I never said that I kept my promises.' Kitsune said — rather, he wished he had said this. Instead, he heard a quiet voice whisper and urge him at the very back of his head. _Trust them. _

The next moment found Kitsune rigidly handing the case over to Hiro. The former frowned confused at his own actions, while the latter flashed a smile of relief.

Hiro gripped the case tightly in his hands and exchanged looks with those around him. They gave him affirmative nods, prompting him to stride over to the white table and place the case delicately on its surface. He clicked the clasps of the case open and slowly lifted its top as the others — save for Kitsune who gazed at them from a distance — gathered behind him.

Within the case resided three items. A pair of vials that were filled with a dark-blue substance and a packet of papers.

Honey's eyes widened in recognition as she gazed at the vials and resisted turning her head to look at Kitsune. Hiro was more entranced, on the other hand, with the packet of papers. He lifted these papers out of the case and held them out for the others to see. They began to skim and flip through the pages, their disbelief and disgust growing with every skimmed word and every turned page.

There was a long moment of silence filled with nothing but the noise of fluttering papers; and then, Hiro threw the papers back into the case and clenched his fists.

"The perfect formula. Physical endurance, eternal stamina. Immortality. Human Trials."

— Hiro said all of these syllables with perfect cadence but with a shaking voice and a shaking head. He whipped his head around and stared at Kitsune who stood stationary.

"I can't believe," Wasabi said in barely a whisper, "that people can actually do such terrible things like that... I—"

"Those bastards need to be stopped." Gogo muttered through gritted teeth, before she turned abruptly and punched the table. "Damnit."

"We can work together to stop these guys." Fred spluttered as he drew back his mask; he turned and nodded at Kitsune. "Stop them from doing this stuff. Expose them. Together!"

"Exposing them won't stop him." Kitsune replied drily. "There's only one way to stop him and it goes against your... morals."

Silence fell.

"There's always another way—-

"Not this time."

"Trial 10c." Honey Lemon murmured under her breath as she rubbed her arm. "The file said that this new formula had been previously tested in Trial 10c." She paused and look at Kitsune, "You're..."

"A survivor of Trial 5b." Kitsune answered for her; he paused, before he added: "They move rather fast."

"So that's why..." Honey Lemon whispered in realization.

"Please don't try to gauge the reason for why I'm after them." Kitsune interrupted her stolidly, extending his left hand outwards. "I'd like to destroy the case now."

There was a pause of silence; no one moved to retrieve the case. It was not as if the six did not want to hand it over to Kitsune. It was just that the atmosphere hung so heavily down on them that they could not move. Wasabi, however, managed to untangle himself from the heaviness and drifted towards the case. He gripped it in his hands, stared intently at it, and stood rigidly. Kitsune studied him carefully, hand still extended.

"Let me." Wasabi finally spoke, turning his head upwards to gaze at Kitsune. "Let me destroy it." His voice was firm and calm, but there was some sort of righteous anger beneath it.

"Wasabi…" Honey Lemon murmured, reaching for him.

"Please." Wasabi spoke again, tightening his grasp on the case. "Let me."

Kitsune stared at him for a long, drawn out, silent moment; before he lowered his hand and averted his gaze. A silent yes. Wasabi sighed quietly at this answer and activated his laser-blades.

"You guys should stay back." He warned to the others.

They nodded and quickly backed away. They never allowed their gazes to leave the gleaming case, nor did they allow their gazes to drift from Wasabi's hard watched carefully as he tossed the sleek box into the air and sliced it through several times with his buzzing blades. He sliced it through so many times that all that remained were ashes.

"We'll escape through the vents." Kitsune said as he watched the gray particles sluggishly drift towards the ground. He paused, glancing at Baymax who stood silently off to the side, and frowned, "I don't think your robot will fit."

"Well, I guess it's time to get you back in your charging console, Baymax." Hiro said as he fiddled around with his suit in an attempt to find the compartment containing said console.

Baymax watched for several moments as Hiro toyed around with his suit, before his gaze drifted upwards towards Kitsune. The fox-masked man was leaning against a crate a couple feet away. Beside him stood Fred who had evidently strolled back to start an amicable conversation with the man.

"Hiro," Baymax drew as he lowered his gaze to the adolescent who was still rummaging through his pockets, "I would like to run a check up on Fred's vitals before we move on."

"Huh?" Hiro frowned distractedly. He looked up in confusion and then looked back at Fred with worry. "What's wrong with him?"

"It is nothing of significant danger." Baymax replied. "But I would like to double-check his readings to confirm that everything is clear."

"Alright." Hiro nodded and gestured backwards. "Have at it."

There was an awkward pause of silence.

"I would like to scan him in private." Baymax said gently.

"Huh?" Hiro did a double-take. "Why?"

"This type of scan requires," Baymax replied lightly, "clothing remo—

"Okay," Gogo coughed loudly, grabbing Honey Lemon and Wasabi by the arm and walking away, "I've heard enough."

Hiro stared after the trio in confusion before the realization smacked him hard in the face. Said face turned a deep shade of rosemary red.

"O-Oh! Right… I forgot about that." Hiro stuttered, snapping his head back to gaze at his healthcare companion. "W-Well," he gestured awkwardly behind him, "have… at it."

Baymax nodded in confirmation and wobbled over to where Fred and Kitsune stood conversing. It was a rather one-sided conversation, but it was evident that Kitsune cared enough to listen. Every once in a while, Fred would pause in his long-winded monologue and Kitsune would give him a subtle nod of the head. It was during one of these pauses that Baymax made his way into the conversation.

"Fred," Baymax stated, "I would like to perform a full vital scan on you to confirm that you are well."

"Huh," Fred nodded, before he gestured widely to his body, "well, have at it, buddy!"

"It requires…" Baymax paused, turning to look at KItsune pointedly. "The removal of clothing."

Before Baymax had even managed to finish his sentence, Kitsune turned sharply to leave.

"Oh." Fred nodded in realization, before he shrugged his shoulders loosely. "Alright, let's go then!"

With that the two headed towards the nearest corner. Fortunately for them, there was an empty one located right behind a series of metal containers. They walked together towards the corner in easy silence. Before they even reached it , however, Fred began to pull off his shirt.

"Fred." Baymax beeped as he registered what Fred was doing. "There's no need to remove your clothing."

"What?" Fred blinked in confusion, having somehow become entangled in his shirt. A look of realization flickered across his face, and he nodded wisely: "Oh, I see. You're a bit shy when it comes to this stuff, right? It's cool, man. We're friends. We're dude friends."

"I was using the vital scan as an excuse to get away from the others." Baymax explained calmly.

"Oh!" Fred nodded, before he frowned. "Wait, what for?" His eyes widened suddenly and he gasped loudly: "Don't tell me this is a love confession!"

"This is not love confession, Fred." Baymax replied. "I have come across some information that I would like to share with you."

"Oh, alright." Fred nodded easily, finally untangling himself from his shirt and sliding the cloth material back on. "Well, shoot."

Fred watched as Baymax's stomach brightened and projected a bright screen on its surface. This screen became split in half, the first half melding into a statistical data chart. At the very top of this chart flickered the picture of someone whom Fred hadn't seen in years. As soon as he saw this picture, a dull pain thudded in his heart; but, like always, he laughed it off.

"Okay," Fred nodded deeply, "so… this is Tadashi's… scan stuff, right?"

"Correct." Baymax answered with a deep nod that just looked awkward.

On the other half of the split screen appeared another picture. This picture held Kitsune's face — rather, it held his mask. A steady list of statistical data blinked underneath this image.

"And this is Kitsune's scan stuff…"

"Correct."

Fred blinked up curiously at Baymax's expression — not that the robot was physically able to morph his face into an expression. The robot stared quietly back down at him. Unsure of what exactly to do next, Fred began to examine the data. He didn't understand what half of the numbers meant, but he was able to realize the fact that Baymax wanted him to either compare or contrast the two data graphs.

After several minutes of staring, Fred found that he could not locate any differences between the two sets; he found many similarities, however. No, that wasn't quite right. All that he found in correlation between the two charts were similarities. There was not a single difference among the two.

Fred suddenly became very confused. He didn't understand how things ended up like this. Things had been so good and smooth up until then. For one, they had finally made a friend of sorts of Kitsune. And they had successfully prevented the package from falling into the wrong hands via its destruction.

But... now…?

"I am telling you this because your psychological profile indicates that you would be less distressed than the others by this information." came Baymax's steady voice. "But my scanners indicate you are experience a large amount of emotional disturbance. I apologize for making you feel such disturbance."

There was a long stretch of silence.

"Baymax, my man," Fred laughed nervously, "if what you're showing me is the real deal… then that would mean… Kitsune is… Tadashi?"

"Correct."

Fred stared and stared and finally came to this conclusion: things had gotten ten times better. His best friend was alive, after all! Fred didn't care much for _how_ Tadashi was alive — he was too overjoyed with the fact that he in fact was living and breathing.

Using all of his willpower, Fred swallowed a shout of jubilation, wiped away the tears that had begun to burn at his eyes, and shook Baymax excitedly.

"Dude, we need to tell the others this!"

"I do not think that would be wise." Baymax tilted his head as his stomach dimmed and flickered off. "Please think about our current circumstances, Fred."

There was silence; and the full weight of the situation slammed into Fred like a freight train. The force of it was so hard that it made Fred sick to his stomach.

"Oh." Fred laughed lightly as he averted his eyes. "Right. It would be awkward, wouldn't it? Yeah…"

A sudden shout cut the conversation short. Baymax and Fred stared at each other in confusion, before they sprinted — well, Baymax wobbled — towards the direction of the sound. They stepped into the light-flooded clearing they had previously occupied and found themselves staring at one angry Gogo and one indifferent Kitsune — no, it was Tadashi. Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Hiro were surrounding the duo and were making fruitless attempts to stop Gogo's onslaught.

"Woah, chill out." Fred laughed lightly as he approached the two; he placed a hand on both of their shoulders and allowed his gaze to linger on Tadashi's mask. "What's the problem here?"

"Mr. Foxy here wants us to tell him where Callaghan is!" Gogo seethed.

"What?" Fred blinked at her in surprise, before he raised an eyebrow at Tadashi. "Why?"

"I need to ask him some questions." Kitsune replied evenly. "I won't bring him any harm."

"Yeah right!" Gogo scoffed crossly. "You of all peo—

"Alright." Fred nodded, cutting him off and earning himself incredulous looks from all those who surrounded him.

"What?!" Gogo seethed, punching him in the arm. "You can't be serious!"

"We'll go to him together." Fred nodded simply. "Another awesome hero-anti-hero team-up thing."

"Fred…" Wasabi frowned lightly. "Are you sure that—"

"Why not?" Fred grinned back at him. "Callaghan is totes involved with this whole CASCO thing, so he'll probably be able to tell all of us how to stop the deadly, diabolical, evil organization."

Kitsune smirked beneath his mask — he tried to at least. He was feeling rather uncomfortable. Fred kept gazing (lovingly?) at him and still had a hand on his shoulder. It took everything within the fox-masked man to not slice off the man's hand then and there. At the same time, however, he felt oddly… comfortable (?) with the entire situation.

He heard the same voice whisper gently to him at the back of his head again—

_Trust them._

* * *

Next Chapter: Koku (告)

∟ "Revelation"

"_The disk slammed against the mask and ricocheted to the side. Cracks appeared along the mask; and one by one, pieces of white plaster and porcelain rained down onto the ground. These pure-white fragments were soaked with droplets of maroon red. _

_Kitsune winced and stumbled backwards, making a grab for what little remained of his mask. He grunted and ripped the shattered remains off and threw it to the ground. He wiped the blood that had dribbled from the gash on his forehead into his eyes off and glowered coldly at them._

_Despite the burn marks that stretched half of his face and despite the red smears that covered his expression, all of the heroes recognized the face that had just been revealed from beneath the mask. It was the face of a ghost. The face of a paradox. It was an impossible improbability._

_None of them spoke out of fear of both voiding the paradox and making the paradox true._"

* * *

**A/N**: Finally! Here's the chapter! Took me a while, but here it is! Aaand, it's almost 7k words long. Whew! Well, it looks like the revelation will happen in the next chapter! Keep your fingers crossed!

Thanks to all who read, followed, and favorited!

And a big thanks to eliwats22, Sabeloid, Elsa the Night Fury, Random Reader 17, Silverblueroses, OMAC001, kid, Guest (1), oOShinahiOo, Guest (2), pitchblankhunter, Renysme, and Iscreamer1 for your lovely reviews!


	8. Revelation

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Eight Encounter_: Koku (告)

∟ "Revelation"

* * *

There were a lot of things that the city of San Fransokyo had forgotten. These things were often either deemed too dull or too insignificant to hold the city's interest, and they were carefully tucked away into its darkest, most unseeable corners. Abandoned buildings were among these forgotten things, and they littered the city in droves.

A young red-haired woman, holding blue crinkled grocery bags in both of her hands, stood in front of one of these abandoned buildings. The street that the building rested on was lined with shabby-looking apartments and appeared all but abandoned. The building was a cement gray and was four floors high. A series of windows lined each floor; and from several of these windows, light and movement was able to be seen.

The woman went up the small flight of steps leading up to the building's steel doors and then pushed the doors open with the side of her hip. She slid in through the small crack that she made for herself and entered the building.

She passed through a reception-looking sort of room that had checkered-flooring and climbed the stairwell that lay at the very back of it. Just as she reached the top of these stairs, she felt cold metal press against her temple and she paused. She side glanced and registered a figure standing to her left holding a gun.

"'Ey, it ain't cool to walk right into somebody's turf, y'know?" came a deep, yet youthful voice from the darkness. "It's kind of just like poppin' somebody's bubble of space. Like, who does that? Do you know what it feels like to be standing in the wet, sticky remnants of a popped space bubble—er, wait. Pause. No. That sounds wrong. Let me start ove—

"Hey, Taka-baka (*)," the woman grinned like a chesire cat and dug into one of her grocery bags, "I got you those beat headphones that ya' wanted." She pulled out a plastic box containing slick headphones and tossed it up and down loftily in the air. Tanned hands stretched out from the darkness and lunged for the box, but she quickly pulled backwards and tucked the object under her arms. "I'm not sure if I wanna give it to ya' since you've just been so rude and unwelcoming to me, ya know?"

The figure then emerged from the shadows, revealing a young man of lean build and medium stature. His desperate eyes were hidden by large aviator shades that rested on the bridge of his nose, and his creased eyebrows were hidden by his sweeping sandy hair.

"Wait," the young man said aghast, "you really gonna deny a cool kid his cool beats, Neko?"

"Cool kid needs ta' apologize." Neko smirked.

"Cool kids don't apologize."

"Really now?"

"Yup."

"I guess these cool headphones are mine then."

"Damnit. Not cool. Is this some lame blackmail, guilt trip into a bottomless abyss of humility? Fine. I'll swallow my pride like a decent human being, and maybe I'll even get some character development going on. Sorry, aight? I was just tryin' to get into the right mojo, you hear? Like, enter my zen palace. You have no idea how hard it is to enter the glorious zen palace. It's like harder than destroying Voldemort's horcruxes, harder than taking the hobbits to Aisengard, harder than opening a sealed pickle jar—

"Taka-Baka," Neko grinned, tossing him the plastic box, "you're rambling again."

"Can't help but speak the beats in my mind." Taka replied as he caught the item.

"Know where the other kitty cats are prowlin'?" She asked, hand on hip.

"Tako is probably holed up in his room writing some weird emo poetry about how unfair life is; Ookami(**) is probs lecturing Hebi on language or somethin' or scrubbing her mouth out with some bleach and soap — girl really needs to lower the R to a G; Usagi is probably babysitting Hitsuji (***); Kitsune is totes brooding on the roof again or staring dramatically off into the dista—

"Huh?" Neko blinked in slight surprise. "Kit is back?"

"Yeah." Taka replied with a slight nod. "Bothered him a bit couple of minutes ago. Some bro bonding time you could say."

"Hmm..." Neko pursued her lips and slid past him. "Well, I'll leave you to making up your raps then." She waved and turned the corner, leaving Taka to rap to himself at the stairwell. She walked along the hall, kicking empty cans and beer bottles to the side. She paused by a door that was slightly ajar and outlined in light and kicked it open. Two out of three of the occupants of the room started and turned in surprise.

The room itself was rather large, and the floorboards were littered with scraps of paper. The walls of the room were spray-painted with colorful sceneries and intricately designed words — the only thing indicating that the walls had been once white were the occasional splotches of white that peaked in between the words and sceneries. There was a thin mattress spread out in the corner of the room and next to that was a large wooden table. The occupant who was not captivated by her dramatic entrance was cribbling away on a sketchbook at this table, while the two other occupants were sitting on the mattress.

"Back from the groceries already, Kittykat?" asked one of the two sitting on the mattress with an easy but sharp smile.

"That's correct, Bunnyboy." Neko grinned as she dug into her grocery bag and pulled out a lilac bundle. "Got ya this since ya lost your bandana on the your mission. I know how much ya like keepin' your neck warm." She tossed the bundle to him and watched as he deftly caught it and unfolded it.

"A scarf, huh?" Usagi chucked loudly, before he nodded appreciatively. "Thanks, Kittykat."

"'Course, Bunnyboy." She smiled her cheshire cat smile again. She then lowered her gaze to the figure sprawled out next to him, and her gaze softened. "How about you, doll? Ready for Santa Neko to show you what she got for ya?"

The figure sprawled out slowly blinked his gray eyes and turned his pale head. He stared at her for a long moment before the corners of his mouth flickered upwards.

"Neko got Hitsuji a present?" he questioned in a soft voice that was almost like a whisper.

"Got that right, doll." She replied, digging into her bag once more and pulling out a cat plushie. She walked over to him and placed the stuffed animal by his side.

Hitsuji smiled lightly back up at he as she did this and rolled over on his side to embrace the toy. He buried his face in it and then stilled. It took a while for Neko to realize that he had fallen asleep.

"Hmm…" drew the occupant of the room seated at the table in a low and melodious voice. "Isn't it a little bit egotistical of you to be giving Sheep a cat-themed toy, Cat?"

Neko narrowed her eyes and came to a stand with crossed arms. She stood like this for a moment, before her scowl melted into a smirk; and she approached the man. Said man had a head of long dark locks that framed his angular face. Piercings lined his ears and tattoos peaked up on his pale skin from behind his black wifebeater.

"That's not a very nice way to speak to someone who went out of her way to buy you a thing, Takoyaki." Neko said as she leaned back the chair he was sitting on.

"You know I hate it when you call me that." He replied as he met her gaze.

"Exactly." She replied with a smirk. "And you know that I hate you." She released her grip on his chair and watched as he nearly fell out of it.

"That's really hurtful, you know?" He frowned as he returned to his sketching. "I don't know what I ever did to you."

"You annoy me." She snapped quickly. "And I don't trust you."

"You're going to make me cry, Cat." He snapped back in a monotone.

"Good." She smirked again, digging into her bag and pulling out an ink set. She slammed the set on the table and scowled inside when she saw that he didn't even flinch. "But don't blame me. It's just my cat instincts screamin' at me."

"Thank you, Cat." He smiled lightly, before he turned to face her. "Oh. Do you need more of the physical enhancements?"

"No." Neko replied stonily. "But I would like ta know which one of your consorts in CASCO is brave enough to deliver the drugs to us every single week."

"That's confidential." He replied in a sing-song voice.

"Guys, you're disturbing Hitsuji." Usagi interrupted their confrontation with a sigh as he lightly patted the squirming Hitsuji on the head.

"This cat was just about ta skip outta here." Neko replied with a light smile. And she did so without another comment. Take stared after her with a glowering gaze.

Neko reentered the dark hallway and dug into grocery bags once more. She rummaged around for a moment, before she pulled out a glass bottle of milk. She tugged the bottle open and began to chug the milk down, before she returned to her stroll. She rounded another corner and ascended the stairs that unfolded behind it. At the very top of these stairs stood a metal door that led to the roof of the building. Neko was hoping to catch her next prey on that very roof. However, just as she was about to reach the door, cacophonic shouting from behind it caused her to pause. Neko, being more of an observer than a confrontational person, pressed her ear against the door's cold surface. Three muffled voices echoed from beyond the closed door.

"I'll swear whenever I feel like it, you bi—

Hebi, Neko identified as she suppressed a cackle.

"Hebi, don't you dare finish that sentence."

Ookami, Neko realized, suppressing another cackle. She took a sip of her bottled milk. It was like she was listening to some radio soap opera.

"If you wanna be a damn mama bear so much, we should just change your name from Ookami to Kuma(****)!"

"Hebi, don't cross the line with me. There's only so much that I can take, before I start confiscating your things."

"Hah! I'd like to see you try!"

"I would be lying if I said that I was enjoying your companies right now."

And Kitty Kitsune, Neko thought with amusement as she cackled quietly. She chugged the last of her milk down and tossed the glass bottle to the side.

"You need to watch your mouth too, Kitsune. I don't like that sass." Ookami chastised.

"You know what?" Hebi shot back — Neko could practically hear her scowling. "Kitsune can do whatever he wants — except brooding. I really don't like it when you get into one of your brooding moods, Kitsune."

"Stop shouting on my ear." Came Kitsune's monotone response.

"I wasn't shouting!" Hebi shouted back. "I was just speaking really loudly."

"Hebi..." — both Kitsune and Ookami said this word in unison, which caused the word to ring oddly in the air.

"W-What? Both of you are on my ass now?" Hebi stuttered, sounding flustered and upset. "Screw this. I'm out!"

Neko slyly stepped backwards as she heard banging, angry footsteps approach. She's slinked into the darkness as the door opened and watched as a figure entered the stairwell. She only revealed herself when the door slammed to a close.

"What's up, doll?"

Hebi started, visibly tensed, and squinted into the darkness.

"Neko?" She tried.

"That's right, doll."

Neko could see the outline of a grin grow on the girl's face, causing her own expression to twitch upwards.

"Thank god you're here!" Hebi sighed in exasperation as she felt her way through the darkness. "Ookami is being stuck-up again, and Kitsune is totally siding with her 'cause he's in one of his brooding moods… again!"

"Sounds harsh, doll." Neko reached out in the darkness to pat her on the shoulder. "But I have some catnip that'll cheer you right up!" She began to dig around her grocery bags once more.

"I hope you're not talking about literal catnip," Hebi frowned with crossed arms, "'cause that would be pretty shi—" she paused, swallowing the word and trying a different one: "crappy."

Neko didn't indicate that she had heard the statement and pulled a thin, plastic-covered object out from the bag. She reached for Hebi's hand and slid it into the snake girl's grasp. There was a gasp following this movement accompanied by an excited squeal.

"Chocolate?!" Hebi breathed deeply as she pressed the bar up to her nose and sniffed deeply. "It is!" She lunged forward and pulled Neko into a tight hug. "You're the second best, Neko!"

"Ey, I go through all that and I'm only the second best?" Neko mocked scowled as she patted the girl on the head.

"'Course." Hebi grinned toothily as she began to hop down the stairs. "Kitsune will always be number one!"

Neko smirked at the statement and watched as the girl reached the bottom of the stairwell, turned, and disappeared from her sight. She then turn towards the metal door, approached it, and pressed her ear against it once more. She listened intently—

"Kitsune," came Ookami's steady voice, "I didn't just come up here to scold Hebi. We need to talk."

"If it's not about the mission, the discussion doesn't concern me."

Neko rolled her eyes at the statement. Typical Kitsune.

"It is about the mission, and it's also about you. I'm rather… concerned."

"You don't need to be. I'm handling this part on my own."

"And that's the thing. Are you sure that you should be handling this particular mission on your own?"

"I don't see why not."

"Well, maybe second thoughts should be accounted for because you're entering a maximum security facility in a couple hours and word is that you're going to be accompanied by the eponymous Big Hero Six."

There was a pause of silence in which Kitsune did not respond. Neko frowned at this.

"You of all people should know that going in alone in those circumstances isn't logical." Ookami continued. "Now, tell me, then: what is so special about this facility — or maybe it's the six — that makes you keep insisting on handling the mission alone?"

"... It doesn't concern you." Kitsune finally responded. Said response was followed by a loud slapping sound.

"Stop being selfish." Ookami said after a moment of silence. "This mission concerns all of us, as does your wellbeing. Self-preservation is one of your main goals, isn't it? So act on it. It isn't like you to throw your lifeline around like this. Stop being foolish."

"... Do as you wish."

Neko chose at this moment to intervene in the conversation and swung the metal door open. Cold night air rushed up to meet her, as well as the silver light of the full moon that hung in the black sky. This light illuminated two figures on the roof. One of these figures was undeniably female and had a bundle of brunette hair tied into a messy bun resting on her head. Despite her slender figure, her expression was hard and her gaze was a steely brown hue. She was dressed in all black attire, while her counterpart was dressed in all white. Said counterpart stood rigidly beside her with a blank expression and with a hand cupping his reddened cheek. They both turned towards Neko as she approached, and they both gazed at her with glowering expressions.

"Yeesh," Neko laughed, "isn't this one hell of a welcome party!"

"Neko," Ookami raised an eyebrow as she placed a hand on her hip, "where have you been?"

"Buying early Christmas presents, of course!" She grinned her cheshire cat grin again.

"Do you always have to intrude." Kitsune glowered at her.

"Well yeah, Kit." Neko rolled her eyes, digging into her bag and pulling out the heaviest object. "It's my job." She handed the object to him and watched as he turned it over in his hands. Something in his expression flickered. Surprise? Recognition? Pain? Neko presumed that it was all of them in one.

"A book." Kitsune stated, his dark gaze shifting from the thick tome in his hands to her smiling expression. He turned the book over again, and read the title he found there aloud: "Biomechanical Engineering: A Summary."

"Yup." Neko nodded, crossing her arms. "I saw you oggling that thing when you were street brooding a couple days ago."

"You were following me." Kitsune noted which earned a half-hearted shrug from Neko. He paused, staring at the cover and running his thumb along its binding. "What am I supposed to do with this. Slam it over my target's head and hope that they fall unconscious?"

"Books are meant for reading, aren't they?" Ookami raised an eyebrow.

"I'll take it back if you don't want it." Neko sighed with a raised eyebrow. She placed a hand on her hip and extended the other for the book.

Much to both women's surprises, Kitsune took a step backwards and pulled the book towards his chest. Kitsune looked rather surprised at his own reaction and allowed his arms to drop loosely to his side. He attempted to pull on an indifferent mask onto his flushing face, but the mixture of blushing and indifference morphed into a scowl.

"I'll… read it." Kitsune muttered, sounding rather defeated.

"No need to be shy, Kit." Neko laughed loudly.

"I'm leaving." He replied stonily as he brushed past her and headed down the stairwell.

The two women watched as he faded from their view, before they turned towards each other. Neko grinned cheekily at her and held out her last item-filled grocery bag for Ookami to take. The latter raised an eyebrow and pried the bag away from the former's grasp. She didn't move to open it, however; rather, she allowed it to loosely hang in her fingertips as she stared at Neko steadily.

"What's wrong, Mama Wolf?" Neko tilted her head. "Not gonna look at the goody I got for you?"

"I will as soon as my stress levels lower to acceptable levels." Ookami sighed as she rubbed her temples. She crossed her arms and grimaced. "I need you and the others to follow Kitsune."

* * *

It was around midnight when Fred arrived at the Robotics Lab. The rendezvous time for the meetup was at six in the morning, but Fred was too anxious — no, too excited — to wait for that time to come around. So, here he was opening the doors leading to the lab and wearing a mask of mixed expressions.

Was he happy? Was he worried? Was he nervous? Was he confused? It was a loud yes to all of the questions.

He proposed several more questions to himself as he paced back and forth in the lobby room of the lab. As he answered his questions aloud, he made dramatic gestures in the air.

Why was Tadashi dressed up as some fox-masked anti-hero?

"Well, secret identity, duh!"

Why hadn't Tadashi revealed himself to them — to Hiro?

"Maybe he doesn't want us to know what he's up to for some reason? To like protect us or something?"

Why would Tadashi do something like that? Wouldn't it be the exact opposite of what Tadashi would do? Wouldn't Tadashi do everything in his ability to not make his friends and family suffer? Wouldn't he want to reunite with his family and friends?

"Come to think of it… Kitsune is like… the anti-Tadashi…"

Fred paused and frowned. He mulled over Kitsune's — Tadashi's — strange behavior. He mulled over the man's coldness, the man's air of aloofness and indifference. He mulled over the man's odd and spontaneous moments of airiness, his moments of forgetfulness. He then recalled the plot points in several of his comic books. In particular, he recalled the Winter Soldier arc in the Captain America comics. And then something clicked in his head, and his heart nearly skipped a beat.

"Wait… maybe," Fred frowned as his eyes widened, "Tadashi… doesn't… remember us…?"

"Fred?" came a soft voice filled with mild surprise. "Is that you, Fred?"

Fred started in surprised and turned his head towards where the voice had emanated from. Standing in the doorway leading to the actual laboratory of the Robotics Building stood none other than Honey Lemon herself. She was draped in her flowery labcoat, and her square glasses hid the bags forming under her eyes.

"What are you doing here, Fred?" Honey Lemon blinked in surprise. "Are you going to sleep here again?"

"Nah," Fred replied quickly as he collected his thoughts, "I was just, y'know, chillin' here till the mission starts." He tilted his head slightly. "What are you doing here?"

Honey's gaze shifted for a moment, and she averted her eyes to the ground. After a moment of silence, she glanced back at him and motioned her head backwards—

"Here, I'll show you."

Fred followed her into the lab room and to her lab station. Her chemistry set was sparkling with life. Vials filled with blue-liquid bubbled over burners and long tubes transferred droplets of one substance to other substances. It was all rather chaotic.

Fred paused, eyeing the blue liquid suspiciously, and frowned: "Hey, isn't that—

"It's the one Kitsune had it on him." Honey answered lightly and quickly. "And I kind of… smashed it to bits, but that's another story. Anyways, I collected a sample of it and now I'm trying to… neutralize its effects."

"Wait," Fred shook his head, "the Kitsune dude had it on him?"

Honey paused, considering, before she nodded slowly.

"I think Kitsune and his acquaintances all use it to boost their physical capabilities." Honey Lemon explained. "I saw him use it several times himself actually." She paused, her bright expression falling: "It has rather… adverse effects."

"But why?" Fred shook his head again. "Why would the dude use it? Wasn't he trying to destroy it?"

"I don't know…" Honey Lemon pursed her lips as she studied Fred's stricken expression with mild curiosity.

Fred never took Tadashi as a drug-user. Sure, Fred had some experiences with recreational drug usage, but he had never crossed the line. And Tadashi was the one who always reprimanded him for his drug-usage. Tadashi suddenly going back on his values didn't make any sense.

_Tadashi isn't himself right now_, Fred reminded himself, and he felt a sharp pain stab his heart as he reached this conclusion.

Before any further conversation could be made, however, the door to the lab swung open and a figure entered the premises.

"Kitsune," Honey started in surprise as she switched off the burner and stepped in front of her lab set-up, "you're here early!"

"I could say the same for you." came the steady reply.

Kitsune stepped into the light and crossed his arms. He was no longer wearing his black coat, his katana was once again strapped to his back, and a rectangular object was held loosely in his hand. His mask, of course, was still fastened tightly to his face.

Fred stared at him for a long and hard moment, his words becoming caught in his throat. The emotions that he had kept at bay for the past several hours finally broke past the dam he had put up; and Fred found himself rushing towards the man with outstretched arms. Before he could skid to a stop, he found himself embracing the man tightly.

Honey gasped in surprise; while Kitsune stood rigidly in place, arms raised above his head, and with his free hand uncertainly drifting towards his katana—

"What the hell."

Fred laughed loudly and released the man from his grasp and patted the man hard on the shoulder.

"Sorry," he continued to laugh easily, "I was so taken aback by your coolness and anti-heroness that I couldn't help myself."

"Right…" Kitsune replied slowly, lowering his hand.

Honey gazed at the duo suspiciously, her eyes lingering on Fred's relaxed expression. Her eyes then drifted towards Kitsune's expression and trailed along his body until they stopped at the object he held in his hand.

"What book is that?" she asked curiously as she stepped forward.

Kitsune seemed confused by her question and glanced around the room in search of the said book.

"In your hand there." She explained with a smile that hid her true, worried expression.

Kitsune lowered his head and gazed at the book in his hand. He seemed to start in surprise for a moment, before he clicked his tongue in annoyance. Under his breath, he muttered something about how 'Neko always got under his skin'.

"You can have it if you want." He replied, placing the book gently on the counter beside him. "I picked it up by accident."

Fred, being closest to the counter, studied the book cover. As he read the title of the book, his heart fluttered slightly. Biomechanical Engineering. A subject that Tadashi excelled at. A subject that Tadashi loved.

"Dude," Fred drew, as he picked the book off of the counter and handed it back to the man, "can't you see that this book is calling out to you? It's like calling for you to open it up and read it, man. It's your destiny!"

"You're making me uncomfortable." Kitsune replied bluntly. Despite this fact, he took the book and tucked it under his arm. Fred grinned brightly at the action, earning himself a glowering glare.

"So…" Fred drew out as he tapped his foot. "What's up, Kitsune?"

Kitsune and Honey Lemon both gave him strange looks. Kitsune turned his head and was evidently pretending that he hadn't heard the question. He walked around the lab, located a stray chair in the corner of the room, and slowly eased himself into it with crossed arms.

"You could rest here if you're feeling tired." Honey Lemon murmured as she approached him.

"I wouldn't come here if I was tired." He shot back in monotone.

Honey Lemon assumed that he was still sour about her crushing his physical enhancements and brushed his snide remark to the side. She pursed her lips, wondering if he had taken another injection once had arrived home — wherever his home was.

"I assume that we need to wait for your fellow teammates before we leave for Callaghan." Kitsune murmured.

"It'd be better if we were all together." Honey Lemon replied, smiling again.

"Professor Callaghan!" Fred shouted loudly and suddenly, earning him the attention of those within the room; he strode over to Kitsune and plopped down on the floor beside him. "What do you think of the guy?"

"I'm going to leave if you keep bothering me." Kitsune answered stolidly.

"Come on." Fred eased him with a toothy grin. "What's your first impression of him?"

"To have a first impression of him, I would have had to have met him before." Kitsune finally answered after a long and awkward pause of silence.

"So you've never met Callaghan before?" Fred pressed on.

"Isn't that what I just implied." Kitsune frowned beneath his mask.

"Are you sure?" Fred came to a stand and peered into Kitsune's face — rather, Tadashi's mask. "Are you sure never met the Professor before — like, are you one-hundred percent sure?"

"I know of him." Kitsune stated simply, irritation becoming evident in his tone of voice. "I've never met him."

"Dude, are you sure that you just haven't like… I dunno… _forgotten _about him?" Fred tried.

Kitsune visibly started at the question, before his body became rigid again.

"Maybe I have." Kitsune snapped back. "He must have not been important if I've forgotten about him so easily."

There was venom in his voice; and much to his surprise and relief, his comment seemed to have silenced Fred. However, the relief then turned into something strange — a feeling that he had not felt in a long time. Guilt.

"Then again," Kitsune sighed, averting his gaze, "I've always had a memory problem."

This earned a barking laugh from Fred and a worried smile from Honey spent the rest of the dawn in mostly silence, spawning a small conversation here and there every once in a while, and waited for the clock to strike six and for the others to arrive. When all members of the group were accounted for, they took off to the skies on Baymax's back (despite Kitsune's protests) and headed towards the facility in which Callaghan was being held.

* * *

Kitsune stared up at the white building with a feeling of slight disappointment. The physical state-of-the-art facility was rather unimpressive compared to the one he had imagined. Sure the building appeared slightly intimidating with it's windowless exterior and metal compound, but other than that, it looked like a regular building.

"Even though sticking with us will earn you a VIP ticket inside," Hiro said steadily from beside him, "you're still going to have to put your pointy things away." He eyed the katana strapped to the man's back.

"Do you have a garbage disposal on you." He asked in monotone and with a hint of sarcasm, as he unstrapped his katana and held it loosely in his hands.

"No," Hiro smirked back at him as he nodded to a corner in the alleyway behind them, "but there's one over there."

Much to Hiro's surprise, the man raised the sheathed blade above his head and chucked it at the disposal can in the alleyway. The blade whirled through the air with a high-pitched whine, before it slammed into the wall behind the disposal bin and clattered to the ground beside it with a resonating clack.

"You've got one mean throw." Wasabi commented from the sidelines.

Honey Lemon and Fred, on the other hand, stared at the fox-masked man with uncertainty. Gogo scoffed at him and rolled her eyes.

"Well, now that that's out of the way..." Hiro raised an eyebrow, turning back towards the facility building. "Let's go."

"I assume that security protocols prevent you from bringing your robot along." Kitsune tried as he began following Hiro with the other four towards the building.

"Yeah," Hiro shrugged, "even though he's the one who helped put most of the baddies in here, they still think that he could somehow be used as a tool in helping some of the inmates escape."

They pushed on the steel doors and entered the building. The interior was — Kitsune admitted — actually impressive. It was brightly lit, neat, and official-looking. Men and women in tight uniforms dotted the room — all turned their heads towards the group as they entered the building. Kitsune tensed slightly at their actions and counted how many uniformed officers were in the room. Hiro and the others, on the other hand, didn't pay any mind to the attention they had been given and approached the receptionist desk at the center of the room. The woman sitting their glanced up at them and offered them a warm smile.

"Welcome back," she nodded at them, "Big Hero Six." She paused, her gaze drifting towards Kitsune's figure.

"Fox-face is with us." Gogo explained.

"Is that so?" the woman pursed her lips.

"Yeah, he's chill." Fred nodded as he leaned himself onto the receptionist desk counter. "We're here to talk to Callaghan btws."

"We were hoping to talk to him in the interrogation room." Honey Lemon added helpfully from the sidelines.

"Alright." The receptionist nodded, her eyes lingering on Kitsune's mask. She glanced down at her computer and typed a phrase out on the keyboard, finishing it all off with the click of her mouse. "Mr. Fawkes," she gestured to the man who stood by the hallway behind the receptionist desk, "will escort you."

Kitsune observed Mr. Fawkes as he approached them. He was tall and broad; he was adorned with a crisp uniform; and most important of all, a glock and a baton were equipped on his belt.

"Follow me." the man said curtly before he turned and began to walk towards the hallway that lay behind the receptionist desk.

The group of six obliged his command and entered the hall behind him. The hall was rather wide, and steel doors popped up every once and while along the walls. At the very end of the hall was a T-shaped cross-section. They turned right at this cross-section and found themselves walking along another hallway. When they reached the end of this hall, they found a large, ornate, double-doorway awaiting them. There was a keypad attached to the surface of one of the doors.

The uniformed officer punched several digits into the keypad and waited for a soft click to resound in the air, before he moved to push the doors open. An ordinary-looking interrogation room unfolded itself for them. A steel table, white walls, white floors, steel chairs.

A middle-aged man dressed in all white sat at the steel table on one of the many steel chairs. The man started in surprise as he saw the group enter. As all gazes met with another, the atmosphere found itself becoming colder.

"Hiro…" the man identified with slightly widened eyes. His gaze shifted towards those who stood behind him. "My students…"

"We're not your students anymore." Gogo snapped quickly, crossing her arms.

"Right," the man shook his head, before he laughed softly. "Y'know, when they said that I had visitors… I wasn't expecting…"

"We're not here for a friendly visit." Hiro said thickly; he glanced backwards and nodded at Kitsune. "This guy here has some questions for you — questions about CASCO."

Callaghan paled, and his body tensed.

"How do you…" he gaped, his gaze drifting towards the man Hiro indicated.

As soon as their eyes met, a sharp pain shot through Kitsune's head. His mind became muddled, his surroundings hazy. A ringing cacophony echoed resolutely in his ears, like the chiming bells of a church. Before he knew what was happening, he was doubled over and cradling his head. Fred and Honey Lemon were supporting him at his sides. The other three were peering into his face with worried expressions.

"Dude," Fred murmurd from beside him, "you alright? Your head hurt? You remembering somethin'?" The question earned the young man strange looks.

Kitsune soon regained some of his senses and shrugged the others off of him. He then made his way towards the steel table with the security official, Hiro, and Fred trailing behind him. Once he reached the table, he leaned forward and pressed his palms against the table's cool edges; and he stared into Callaghan's eyes. The old man had pulled up a mask of indifference to hide his true expressions of worry, curiosity, and confusion.

"CASCO." Kitsune stated slowly. "You worked on the research team — the C Division — for Project Doubutsu(*****)."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Callaghan answered him in an even voice, turning his head.

"You know who the head of the project is." Kitsune continued. "The real head, not the acting head."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Callaghan repeated.

"Why you…" Gogo gritted her teeth, using all of her strength to restrain herself from walking over to the table and slugging the man in the face.

"Callaghan," Hiro said steadily with narrowed eyes, "you need to answer truthfully — to make up for everything that you've done."

A look of guilt flashed across Callaghan's face in that instant, and he lowered his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows. He studied his hands for a quiet moment, before he sighed: "I can't tell you, Hiro. I'm sorry."

"I should have known." Kitsune muttered under his breath as he straightened himself.

"Kitsune?"

"The only way to get people to answer your questions is through fear."

With that final statement hanging in the air, Kitsune reached across the table, grabbed Callaghan by the collar, and tossed him across the room. He hit the wall with the thud and slid to the floor with a groan.

The security official snapped into action immediately, lunging for the fox-masked man. In one fluid moment, however, Kitsune knocked the official off of his feet, ripped the glock from the man's belt, and clicked the safety of the gun off. He pointed the glock at the official's head as he gazed at Callaghan's groaning form.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Gogo and Hiro shouted in unison.

"Don't move or I'll kill him." Kitsune said stonily.

The atmosphere of the room plummeted to all new frigid levels as the cold reality of betrayal hit the five heroes in their faces. Everyone within the room stood tense with expressions of disbelief, betrayal, and hurt.

"I know that we couldn't trust you!" Gogo seated, her hand paused halfway in the air — she had attempted to reach for her equipped disk, before Kitsune had pointed the gun at the security officer.

"Where are the other guards…?" Wasabi thought to himself under his breath. "Shouldn't this have thrown up a security alert or something?"

"Of course." Kitsune blinked at her steadily. "I'm still unsure of why you didn't follow your instincts."

The fox-masked man began to walk towards Callaghan who was just beginning to pick himself off of the floor. Just as he was about to reach the fallen man's side, Hiro lunged at him — rather, Hiro lunged for the gun. Unfortunately, Kitsune easily knocked the adolescent to the ground; and before Hiro could do anything else, he found the nose of the glock pointed square at his head. Cold eyes stared down at him from behind the mask, cold eyes that — for some odd reason — made Hiro's heart ache. These cold eyes did not waver as their owner moved his finger towards the trigger of the gun—

"Tadashi, don't! He's your brother!"

Kitsune paused, eyes widening in slight confusion. Gogo used this pause of confusion to her advantage (She had to break through her own confusion first and had assumed that Fred had shouted something random to distract Kitsune.) and ripped the yellow disk off of her back and whipped it at the fox-masked man's face. The sheer force of her throw caused a resonating whine to echo in the air, and the disk hit it's target perfectly.

The disk slammed against the mask and ricocheted to the side. Cracks appeared along the mask; and one by one, pieces of white plaster and porcelain rained down onto the ground. These pure-white fragments were soaked with droplets of maroon red.

Kitsune winced and stumbled backwards, making a grab for what little remained of his mask. He grunted and ripped the shattered remains off and threw it to the ground. He wiped the blood that had dribbled from the gash on his forehead into his eyes off and glowered coldly at them.

Despite the burn marks that stretched half of his face and despite the red smears that covered his expression, all of the heroes recognized the face that had just been revealed from beneath the mask. It was the face of a ghost. The face of a paradox. It was an impossible improbability.

None of them spoke out of fear of both voiding the paradox and making the paradox true.

...

Hiro's eyes traced along the man's face, taking in every single detail that he could. Every detal was almost perfectly the same. This face was the same face that smiled at him, that scolded him, and that had encouraged him since he was born.

The more Hiro's eyes lingered on the man's face, the more his eyes stung and the more his eyes watered.

A memory flashed in his mind:

_Riding on the back of his motorcycle, the air whipping madly at his face. Their reflections smiling and scowling back at them from the darkened glass of the building. The feeling of immortality and invincibility — as long as they were together, they'd be fine!_

'_You knucklehead!' — angrily, frustratedly, but warmly and affectionately. _

"Ta…" Hiro swallowed, slowly coming to a stand. "Tadashi…?"

…

Gogo's hand fell limply to her side as she stared at the man. It was impossible, but there he was in the flesh. Her entire body felt numb, like she had been plunged headfirst into ice-cold water; but despite this numbness — this coldness — her eyes were watering uncontrollably and burned with the salty tears.

'_You like to go fast, huh? I have to say — you're pretty amazing. At this rate, no one will be able to catch up with you!'_

…

Honey Lemon's hand drifted towards her quivering mouth.

It couldn't be.

This man couldn't be Tadashi.

This man with such cold eyes couldn't be the Tadashi who always smiled so warmly.

But the cold reality was right in front of her glaring at her with cold eyes.

Someone had stolen away Tadashi's warmth, she realized. And she would do everything in her ability to return it back to him.

'_You've got to admit that Honey Lemon does kind of make sense. You're sweet as honey, but you're as cool and soul as lemons.'_

…

Wasabi's mind was muddled and confused. And he hated it when things were muddled and confusing. He wished that he could understand the confusing mess that stood before him — the confusing mess that was causing strange sounds to escape his throat, the confusing mess that was his best friend Tadashi.

'_There's nothing wrong with being sensitive, you know? If anything, it makes you an even stronger person! Oh man… That sounded corny, didn't it?"_

…

Hiro took a shaky step forward.

"Tadashi?" He repeated.

A blank stare was his only response. A cold and blank stare. It was a stare that Hiro hated intensely. It was a stare that did not belong on Tadashi's face. It was a stare that Hiro decided that he would break. So, he ran at his brother and pulled him into a tight embrace. It was a sloppy and wet embrace, but it was a tight and almost inescapable one as well.

"Tadashi." Hiro sobbed uncontrollably. "It's really you, right? Not another dream? Ta—"

His sob was cut off short as Tadashi kicked him away. The force of the kick sent him flying across the room. If Fred hadn't been standing a few feet behind him, he would have found himself slamming into the wall full-force. Instead, the two found themselves in a toppled heap.

Kitsune made his way over towards Callaghan who was staring at him with widened eyes of disbelief and pulled the man up to a stand. He then pointed the nose of the gun at the man's temple and stared steadily at the teary group before him.

"You're going to let us pass through." He stated as if it was a fact.

"Tadashi… What…" Honey Lemon shook her head and stepped forward. "What are you doing?"

"You're not going to shoot." Fred stated firmly. "You're not going to kill him. I know you're not going to."

Kitsune blinked at the two, before he lowered the glock — and fired it. The bullet pierced the flesh on Callaghan's upper leg, and the man let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"I won't kill him." Kitsune agreed. "But I will maim him if I have to. Now let us pass through."

"Tadashi…" Hiro laughed in confusion, his voice becoming slightly hysterical. "What are you talking about? Let's go home — Aunt Cass is going to be really mad, but that's okay… I…"

"Move." Kitsune stated calmly, taking several step forwards and dragging Callaghan with him.

"No." Gogo spoke suddenly in a quiet whisper. "You can't, Tadashi. You need to come home, Tadashi." She moved towards the door with widespread arms. She bit her lip and shouted loudly: "You need to come to your damn senses and come home!"

It was then that the entire building shook like an earthquake had been released at its core; and the wall behind the steel table cracked, splintered, and crumbled to pieces. As the dust cleared away, two figures entered the room. One of these figures the group of five recognized; the other, they did not. A hawk-like mask obscured his face.

"Rescue squad is here to the rescue!" Hebi shouted loudly, ripping off her snake-mask and slamming it to the ground. Her eyes scanned the room, before they landed on Kitsune's face; and then they widened. "Kitsune, what happened to your beautiful face?!" Her gaze then shifted towards where Hiro and the others stood frozen; and her face paled; and her eyes narrowed: "No...You…"

"Why are you here." Kitsune muttered, pulling the frantic Callaghan closer to him.

"Ookami sent us to rescue your damsel-in-distress ass. Took us a while 'cause you suddenly decided to turn into Superman and fly away." The hawk-masked man answered matter-of-factly. "The explosion was my idea, by the way — I thought that it'd make a pretty fresh entrance scene. I kind of had an Expendables thing in mind, but that kind of explosiveness would have destroyed the entire city block—"

"I have Callaghan." Kitsune cut him off and tossed the professor towards the rambling man. Said man caught Callaghan bridal-style.

"Damn." The hawk-masked man muttered. "I feel like I'm Prince Charming."

"I'm not going to forgive you for harming Kitsune!" Hebi shrieked at the top of her lungs as she began charging towards them. She was, however, stopped by Kitsune's extended hand. She glanced up at him with a mixture of fear and confusion: "Kitsune…?"

"Mission accomplished." He replied, not even sparing her a glance. "We're leaving."

"Sweet. This party was getting awkward anyways." The hawk-masked man chirped from the sidelines as he turned towards the gaping hole in the wall that led to the outside world. "Stop squirming, pops." he sighed down at Callaghan who was struggling to free himself from the man's grasp. "It isn't very princess-like of you."

"Where the hell do you think you're going with Callaghan and Tadashi?!" Gogo shouted furiously, taking a step forward.

Hebi winced as she heard the latter name, while the hawk-masked man pretended that he hadn't heard her. Before Gogo or any of the others could make a move towards them, however, Hebi reached into her pocket and pulled out a small circular object. She threw the object on the ground and disappeared from their view along with the hawk-masked man and Callaghan as a cloud of smoke erupted in the air. The last thing they saw was Tadashi's wavering gaze. He stared at them for a moment, before he turned his head and disappeared into the gray haze.

Hiro's eyes widened at the sight, and he charged blindly through the smoke clouds. He shouted Tadashi's name over and over, choking on the acrid grayness as he did so. He tripped over pieces of rubble in his mad scramble, but he continuously picked himself up over and over again. He screamed the name over and over again, until his voice went hoarse. He ignored the calls of his own name and delved deeper into the grayness. He continued to shout; and his throat grew raw, but he didn't care. He didn't care at all.

The smoke cleared away, and he found himself staring at an empty street. His knees gave way beneath him; and he slid to the ground. He vaguely felt himself being surrounded and prodded and shaken by worried hands, and he vaguely heard the wailing cries of police sirens. But he didn't care much about those things either. All he really cared about at the moment was—

"Tadashi… Why?"

* * *

(*) Hawk-idiot

(**) Wolf

(***) Sheep

(****) Bear

(*****) Animal

* * *

Next Chapter: Kumoru ( 曇 )

∟ "Cloudiness"

'So you know this face too.'

'You were my student. During the showcase a fire broke out, and you rushed in to save me... Don't you remember?'

'How stupid. No wonder that me died.'

...

'You knew and you didn't tell any of us — you didn't tell me?!'

'I think he has amnesia or something...'

'I don't care how it happens, but I am going to get him back no matter what!'

* * *

**A/N**: Jesus that was exhausting. And this chapter is around 8k words too! I was going to split it up at first, but I decided to just throw it all in in one go. Whew! Anyways, here it is! (And yes, I know. The facility's security was rather unimpressive, but it needed to be to move the plot along)

Thank you to all those who read, followed, and favorited!

A big thanks to…

Icescreamer1 (I've never actually seen that short film before. I've been planning to though!),

bukalay (/bows),

eliwats22 (Yes, it was actually inspire by that drawing),

Saleboid (/gives you a baymax. You might need him for future chapters. Btw, your review made me smile.),

Silverblueroses (I tried to post this chapter earlier, but I couldn't churn it out in time v.v. But here it is now!),

Darkx143 (Alright! I'll try to fit the pairing in!),

Random Reader 17 (Aw thanks. And a big Happy New Year to you too!),

kid (Added more reactions just for you!),

iami (Many thanks!),

GalacticTrooper954 (/offers you a Baymax?),

Ethian V (He's actually a decent secret-keeper, that Fred),

The Wayfaring Strangers (Wow, thank you for all of your reviews! I really appreciate it! Sorry about the swearing, I'll try to lower that down.),

Musicreadergirl (Aw, thanks!),

d43153 (Many thanks! Your compliments mean much!),

Elsa the Night Fury (A Happy New Year to you too!),

Weeldx (Thank ya, thank ya, thank ya!),

shards of sonata (Thanks! I'll try to insert hints of that pairing in here and there), Sky (Thank you much!)

...for reviewing!

I wish all of my readers a Happy New Year!


	9. Cloudiness

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Ninth Encounter:_ Kumoru ( 曇 )

∟ "Cloudiness"

* * *

Hiro thought he would never feel this kind of pain again, this numbness, this feeling like there was some black hole in his heart that was steadily consuming his entire being from the inside out; but here it was accompanied by the familiar ringing in his ears and the numbing buzz in his head and the burning tears that pricked at his eyes. Was he crying because he was sad? Happy? He couldn't tell.

It was like he was trapped inside a little bubble with the outside world moving rapidly around him. He wasn't a part of that world; and he was perfectly fine with that. He didn't mind it at all. Afterall, he wasn't to sure what would happen if his bubble would pop. Would all of the amassed and culminated emotions trapped within his bubble explode outwards in an uncontrollable burst? Probably. Therefore, it was safer for those outside of his bubble for it to remain unpopped as well; but then... a hand reached into his bubble and did just that. And the bubble popped. The criminal hand belonged to—

"Fred!" Hiro seethed and spat, as he smacked the hand away and grabbed the owner of the hand by the collar. "You _knew_! You knew and you didn't tell us — you didn't tell me!" He let out a blood-curdling shout and used all of his might to shove the man to the ground through a haze of blurry tears. "How could you?!"

Fred lay sprawled out in the ground in shock. Honey Lemon rushed to his side and helped him into a sitting position, while Wasabi and Gogo moved to restrain Hiro who shrugged their attempts off. Fred did his best to respond to Hiro's angry and flustered demands, but his words came out garbled—

"H-Hiro, man, I'm so sorry, I—"

"Save it! I don't want to hear it." Hiro growled; he shook his head and ruffled his hair, pausing suddenly as a realization dawned on him. He allowed his hands to swing loosely to his side as he stared at Fred with dwindling rage. "How... How did you know…?"

Fred's eyes widened at the question and he averted them from Hiro's face. But that was all Hiro needed to know. As realization dawned on the adolescent, he felt a sense of betrayal and despair begin to gnaw away at something in his chest. He shook his head and began to slowly back away from the four other heroes. Said heroes were also caught up in the recent revelations and barely had the time to register Hiro sprint off in the opposite direction.

"Hiro, wait—"

"Leave me alone!" He cried.

They didn't have the time to chase after him, because they were soon swarmed by questioning police officers.

Overhead, gray clouds began to swallow up the sun.

* * *

They drifted in like sea foam on ocean waves, stretching their tendrils across the pale morning sky. First appearing thin and white, they thickened and grayed as the weather chilled. Like a woolen blanket, they shrouded the city. The clouds. The first sign of fall.

All of the actors of the tragedy turned their heads and gazed upwards at the cloudiness and allowed conviction to fill their hearts.

* * *

"Ta… da… shi."

He tried the foreign word slowly and carefully, like it might burn his tongue if he said it incorrectly. The name felt strange coming from his mouth and it made his tongue tingle; but it also sounded natural and melodious in his ears. He stared up at the gray clouds that hung heavily over head in the sky and spread his arms outwards, palms up against the tiles on the roof, and repeated the name once more.

"Tadashi."

He rolled over onto his stomach and folded his arms beneath his chin. The corners of his mouth flickered upwards ever so slightly:

"Tadashi… Ha... Hamada?"

A pair of feet entered his vision, causing him start and straighten himself.

"Usagi," Kitsune identified as he drew himself to a stand, "what is it."

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Usagi laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "I just came up here to check up on you; and I find you smiling and mumbling to yourself. Quite a rare sight — the smiling, that is."

"I thought I told you not to bother me." Kitsune replied thickly, placing a hand on his hip and staring off into the mostly abandoned city below them.

"Come on. Don't be like that." Usagi grinned lightly and easily. "I worry about you, you know? You're always by yourself."

"I wish I was."

"So, how are you feeling?" Usagi questioned lightly.

Kitsune turn towards him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Taka vaguely told me about what happened while you were apprehending Callaghan." Usagi explained.

"Someone should cut off that bird's beak." Kitsune muttered darkly.

"Don't worry." Usagi waved him off. "I think Taka respects you, so he won't be telling that info to anyone who you wouldn't tell it to."

"I wouldn't have told that information to you." He replied, betraying his vulnerable expression.

Usagi laughed loudly as he registered the expression, before he glanced up at the sky. Then, the corners of his mouth drooped slightly. "So," he murmured, "Fabashi, was it?"

"Tadashi." Kitsune corrected him, his eyebrows twitching slightly. "Tadashi Hamada… I think."

"I see…" Usagi observed him as he crossed his arms. "So what are you going to do now?"

"What do you mean." Kitsune side-glanced at him, crossing his arms as well.

"Don't try to brush it off, Kitsune." Usagi smiled lightly, despite his frowning eyes. "You've finally found what you had before," he paused, gesturing widely, "before all this."

"You make it sound like I've been searching for them for all my life." Kitsune observed with a raised eyebrow.

Usagi shrugged.

"I would be lying if I said that that wasn't cliche."

"You're beginning to sound like Hebi." Usagi laughed, earning a sour look from Kitsune ("It's my catchphrase not hers." Kitsune wanted to say. "She stole it from me; and I stole it from..."). "If I were you," he continued after a pause of silence, "I would try to reconnect with them — even if it's just for a little while."

"But you're not me." Kitsune answered him coyly, before he averted his gaze. "Besides, I thought that I've already told you this: the me then and the me now are completely different people. It'd be stupid to 'reconnect', and it wouldn't benefit me in the slightest." He added quietly and darkly under his breath: "I've made an enemy of them anyways."

"Well, you actually told Hebi that miff." Usagi answered him with another laugh, causing Kitsune to glower at him even more darkly.

"That girl..."

"Can't help the fact that Hebi is a gossip." Usagi shrugged half-heartedly. He opened his mouth to continue, but paused when Kitsune brushed past him. "Hey, where are you going?"

"To talk with Callaghan and Krei." Kitsune answered him as he paused in the doorway.

"Tako is 'talking' with the two of them right now." Usagi called out to him, making air quotes with his fingers. Kitsune didn't reply and descended the stairwell, causing Usagi to sigh tiredly and rub his eyes. "That guy…"

* * *

Before Baymax's visual conduits even powered up, he could tell that someone in his vicinity was experiencing alarmingly high emotional distress. When he could finally see his surroundings, he came to realize that it was none other than his patient Hiro Hamada who was experiencing this distress.

The boy stared up at him with narrowed and teary eyes. Spiteful eyes.

"Hiro," Baymax began, "my scanners indicate that you are experiencing high emotional distress. Diagnosis—"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hiro asked calmly, despite the force with which his body was shaking.

"I am sorry." Baymax blinked at him. "I am unsure of what you are referring to."

"Don't play dumb with me." Hiro hissed. "You knew. You knew that Kitsune was Tadashi."

Baymax's visual conduits widened slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Hiro asked glaringly through a haze of tears. Near the end of his asked question his voice became unsteady, causing him to bite his lip in frustration.

"I am sorry, Hiro." Baymax said gently, placing a hand on the adolescent's shoulder. "I did not wish to cause you emotional distress, so I chose not to tell you. It appears that I have miscalculated; no, I have misjudged… I care for your wellbeing, Hiro. I am sorry for causing you emotional distress."

Hiro stood frozen, fists-clenched, glaring holes into the floorboards of the room. Seeing this, Baymax wobbled forward and pulled the adolescent into a gentle hug. And much to Hiro's surprise, he found all of his anger slowly ebbing away. The only feeling left in his chest was sorrow, regret, and guilt; but, for some strange reason, he could not cry any further nor any harder. It was as if he had no tears left to cry. He briefly wondered if that made him a horrible person. Hiro realized that he had spoken his wonderment aloud, because a mechanical voice soon answered him:

"Just because you do not have any tears left to shed does not mean that you do not feel said, Hiro."

"I haven't changed at all, have I, Baymax?"

His question was muffled by Baymax's belly.

"You have grown, Hiro. As your health care companion, I can confirm that you are not the same adolescent from when we first met. The you today is different from the you yesterday, as will the you of today be different from the you of tomorrow. You today are kinder."

"It sure doesn't feel like it." Hiro scoffed bitterly. "The way I just exploded at Fred..."

"Apologizing can remedy the problem."

"I'm sorry, Baymax..." Hiro murmured. "I'm a... knucklehead."

"Pat. Pat." Baymax stated as he patted Hiro on the shoulder. "It is alright, Hiro."

"But…" Hiro continued as his eyes narrowed. "Why was Tadashi…?"

"I believe my creator has suffered a mixture of physical, psychological, and physical trauma," Baymax offered in a somewhat uncertain voice, "and from those factors he has developed retrograde amnesia. I also believe, however, the problem may run deeper than that."

"Amnesia?" Hiro frowned, wiping away drying tears from his eyes as he unravelled himself from Baymax's hug. "So… he doesn't remember… That actually makes sense. There's no way that Tadashi would do all of those things if he was in the right state of mind..."

"I agree with your statement."

"But how did he survive the fire? The amount of carnage… " Hiro continued as he paced along the wall of his room; he then shook his head roughly. "No, that doesn't matter right now. What matters right now is getting..." He paused, his hands falling loosely to his sides, "... is getting my brother back."

There was a long drop of silence.

Hiro turned and pressed his back against the coldness of the wall beside him. He slid down to the floor and gazed at his palms steadily. They were callused.

"I'm definitely going to get him back. I definitely will."

The memory of a clear, cold, and glaring gaze rose to the surface in his mind, causing him to wince slightly.

"This sucks... I'm really happy, so happy... but I'm so sad... And scared at the same time."

"It's a natural response, Hiro. It will be alright."

The glaring memory was suddenly washed away by the memory of a warm, smiling, and encouraging expression; the sudden change caused Hiro to come to a stand. Seconds later, he found himself striding over to the closed shoji door that split the room in half and drew it open.

Gray light poured in from the formerly closed off section of the room, and it caused shadows to retreat into hidden slits and corners. The section of the room itself looked unchanged to Hiro from how it had appeared on the day of the showcase — save for the thick layer of dust that was collecting on exposed surfaces. The entirety of it gave off an aura of serenity. The nostalgia of it all caused Hiro to smirk slightly.

"I'll drag that knucklehead back if I have to — afterall, he seriously needs to clean up his section of the room."

There was another pause of silence.

"Oh man. Aunt Cass is gonna freak when I bring him back home. Ugh."

* * *

The sky rushed by like a slate of gray above her wildly whipping hair, as she buried herself in her thoughts.

She had never been in a situation where she did not know how to act. Whether the situation was grim or light, she always had an immediate solution to it — be it solved with brain or brawn. So, that being said, this was the first time she couldn't calculate nor beat out an answer. How could she? The situation before her was nearly unbelievable; the actions laid out before her were nearly impossible to act upon.

Scowling, Gogo revved the handle on her motorbike and was thrusted forward. The updraft nearly knocked the wind out of her; and it took every ounce of her concentration to swerve away from the honking vehicles that dotted the street around her. She was, in fact, glad for the distraction. It took her mind off of—

"_Wasn't it obvious? He was too weak to pull the trigger. If I were him, I would have at least shot her in the leg to make my point." _

A flash of anger.

A screeching flash of red followed by the stench of burning rubber; and Gogo nearly found herself being rammed in the side by a speeding car. She was, however, quick to react and swerved away from the vehicle — and effectively found herself slamming right into an alleyway wall. Thankfully, of course, she was wearing a helmet. Said helmet, however, did not protect her from the jolting pain that vibrated through her body upon impact, nor did it numb the pain she received when she fell onto the cement sidewalk.

The sound of a car door clicking open, followed by the stampede of footsteps reached her ears. And then—-

"Oh my god. Are you okay?"

Hands lightly touched her shoulders, causing her to flinch and causing a strange flicker of irritation to spark in her chest. She didn't need any damned sympathy.

"I'm fine." She growled as she smacked the hands away and came to an unsteady stand.

"I'll call an ambulance—

"I said that I'm fine!" She seethed in anger. She whipped her helmet off, tucked it under her arm, and bent down to straighten her motorcycle — she did this all while ignoring the murmurs of those gathered around her.

"Miss—-

"I don't need any help, alright?!" She growled as she approached the man who had been speaking softly to her. She stood her ground and glared into his eyes.

Anger. That was all she could feel at the moment. She was angry at the world.

The world was cruel and unfair, and it hid behind a thin cloak of justice. She had come to this realization in her childhood. She had come to this realization when she, starry-eyed, had entered kindergarten only to be bullied for her racial background. She had come to this realization when she had been excluded from recreational athletic activities because of her gender. She had come to this realization when she had seen her friends dreams be shot down one by one after they cried and toiled away to reach their dreams, when she had seen them smile and say 'Well, it can't be helped, right? I'm just not good enough'. She had come to this realization watching television in the dingy grocery market around the street when she was younger. It had shown smiling men and women laughing in family living rooms and children who were granted three magical wishes. She had wondered when she was younger — 'Why can't I be like them?'. The answer: the world was cruel.

'But, after experience all this pain and suffering, hasn't it made you a stronger person?' the world would ask her at the end of the day.

'What bull.' she would answer in turn. 'No one deserves to endure all this crap.'

She was angry at it — this cruel world that had taken one of her best friends away from her and had replaced him with a cruel doppelganger. She would make this world pay.

Gogo thought of all these things as she searched the man's eyes. What was she searching for? She wasn't quite sure of what herself. But what she found in the man's eyes was her own reflection, and in that reflection a memory:

"_You know, the world isn't as bad as you think."_

"_... Well that was random."_

"_Oh! My bad…. I thought… Well, I was just thinking that you seemed like a cynicist—"_

"_Wow, thanks for that."_

"_I didn't mean it as an insult! There's nothing wrong with following your own philosophy — as long as it doesn't hurt other people, of course."_

"_Okay… and?"_

"_Well, if you find the world so unfair, you should do something to change it. I mean, you're an amazing person, Gogo. You're strong and you never call it quits. __**You **__of all people would be able to pull it off!"_

"_... you're such a dork, Hamada boy."_

Gogo's eyes widened slightly, and she faltered. The man whom she had been glaring at took a step backwards and gazed at her questioningly. She, in turn, straightened herself and smirked loosely at the man.

"I don't need any help," she repeated herself, "but thanks for that concern. I appreciate it."

With that phrase hanging in the air, she swung herself onto her bike and drove out towards the cloudy horizon.

She would not make the world pay; she would change it... And she guessed she would rescue Callaghan while she was at it too.

* * *

Order trumped chaos, like how good triumphed over evil. That line of thought, of course, completely went against the Chaos Theory. Said theory was one that Wasabi had on his "To-debunk list". Of course, theories were nearly impossible to prove false.

The Chaos Theory. That was what pretty much defined his life at the moment. "Everything in the universe naturally leans towards chaos". How true. Quite the dilemma. And because of this, Wasabi found himself straightening up his already straightened garage, as he always did when he was faced with a dilemma.

Wasabi had cranked the garage door open to let in some fresh air and was somewhat surprised when the air turned out to be rather cool than warm. For him that meant two things: allergy season was almost over, and flu season was just around the corner. Unsure of whether to be pleased or upset by the revelation, the young man stepped out from under the ceiling of the garage and into the openness of the sky. It unfolded above him and took the appearance of raked fields of gray. The cloudiness reminded him of the day of the funeral.

"Man..." He muttered to himself. "What do I even do?"

Wasabi knew what he wanted to do and he knew what he had to do, but the two ideas led to two completely different results.

"I want to get Tadashi back…"

He was freaking alive for pete's sake! But why? Why was he allied with the kabuki-masked people? Why was he allied with the snake-masked girl who had killed a plethora of people in cold blood? Had Tadashi killed people himself? No! Tadashi would never do such a thing! Even if his own life was at stake, he would never take another life! But… was this Kitsune the same Tadashi?

The memory of the stench of burning flesh smacked Wasabi right in the face, as well as the memory of a cold voice filled with indifference. The memory of the unhesitating blade and the memory of the robbery kidnapping rose to the surface as well. The volatilities of it all was almost overwhelming. It caused unmistakable fear and apprehension to boil madly in his stomach.

Wasabi immediately darted back into the garage and began to search for something to reorganize. His eyes locked onto a bookshelf that appeared slightly unkempt in the corner of the garage. He strode over to it and immediately began his work. Reorganize in alphabetical order, here; restack the books there—

"Man!" He threw up his hands in exasperation and ruffled his head. "This isn't helping anyone at all!"

Something clattered from the bookshelf top to the floor. Wasabi sighed exasperatedly and bent down to retrieve the object; but he paused, fingertips still extended, once he realized what the object was.

A picture encased in a metal frame lay on the ground before him. Six toothy faces smiled from behind the glass encasement up at him. It was the picture from the showcase that Honey Lemon had taken. It was the last picture they had taken with Tadashi.

Ah. He came to a realization.

Wasabi stared at the picture for a long moment, before he smiled softly and picked it up gingerly. He placed it back on the bookshelf, allowing his fingers to linger on its frame.

He hadn't been afraid of what Kitsune — no, Tadashi — would do to him. He had been afraid of what would happen to Tadashi if the Hamada continued on his current path. He hadn't been afraid for himself; rather, he had been afraid for his friend's sake.

"It's been awhile, so we're definitely going to need more pictures."

* * *

The robotics lab was eerily quiet. The only sounds echoing softly throughout the lab were the bubbling pops originating from a chemistry lab station tucked away in the corner of the room. Said bubbles sprung to life in a clear blue liquid that was contained in a elymer flask that hung over a bunsen burner. Next to these objects was a microscope; and in the slide of the microscope was a droplet of the same blue liquid. A hazel eye gazed into the lens of this microscope and probed it with curiosity.

"It reacts to… Epinephrine…? Dios mio! Adrenaline of all things! It's amazin—"

Honey Lemon drew back from the microscope and slowly sank into the stool behind her. Frowning slightly, she began to toy with a frayed button on her lab coat.

"No… it's not amazing at all."

She clasped her hands together and found herself staring at the elymer flask. The bubbling blue liquid met her gaze; and her frown deepened.

"'It's for survival' — that's what you said, right?"

Bubbling pops answered her.

"Why didn't you tell me…?"

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

"I really want to help you, but… how do I do that?"

Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop. Pop.

"To be honest… I really want to go back to how things use to be…"

"_You like destroying things and watchings things break apart."_

Honey Lemon's bright head snapped up and her eyes widened. A smile then broke across her face, and she hopped up from her stool.

"Honey Lemon, why the heck are you sitting around moping for?" She chastised herself in a singsong voice. "Never let anything get you down, girl!"

If destruction and deconstruction were her forte, then she would just deconstruct and destroy whatever was making Tadashi Kitsune. Nothing could stop her.

* * *

Comic books had always held the answers to his problems. Ever since he was younger, whenever he was feeling down, he would flip open one of the books' thin plastic covers and would find his problems melting away. It had become a tradition for him to sink into them whenever he was facing a problem; so, as per tradition called, Fred was currently sprawled out on his back and holding a flimsy comic book above his head.

"What would Superman do?" Fred asked the book. "'Course he would save his friend from the clutches of evil, and he would give a big speech about justice too!... Hm… It'd be pretty rockin' if I could do that too." Sighing loudly, he rolled onto his stomach. "Not sure if I can handle all that mojo."

There was knock on his bedroom door, followed by the creaking squeak of its opening. Fred's father, dressed in a crisped uniform, stood in the doorway.

"Hey, Dad." Fred greeted as he swung his legs over the bed and came to a sitting position. "What's up?"

"Son." the man acknowledged with a nod as he stepped into the room. "I was just coming to check up on you. How is work going?"

"Oh, it's great!" Fred laughed easily. "Y'know, it's just the usual posing for pictures and cheering during football games jazz."

"I was talking about your job with the Big Hero Six." His father laughed. "Though, I'm glad your mascoting job is going well too."

"Oh!" Fred clapped his hands. "You meant my defeating-the-forces-of-evil job; well, that's going great too—er…"

"Has something happened, son?" His father asked, drifting towards him.

To answer his question, Fred moved to the side and made room for his father to sit. His father complied, sank into the bed, and gazed at him questioningly. Despite his father's warm and reassuring presence, Fred found himself averting his eyes.

"Dad…" He began slowly, uncertainly. "You were a pretty legit, big-name hero back in the day, right?"

"Of course, son." His father nodded. "I have over one hundred city metals to vouch for me."

"What if…" Fred drew slowly, as to preserve the dramaticness of it all. "What if your best friend who you thought was dead suddenly came back — but you didn't know that it was actually him until your friend's robot told you and your friend got mad at you for not telling the truth later on and you feel totally torn up about it — and started doing the anti-hero-y jazz, and maybe got into some drug abuse, and maybe even killed people, and is maybe even involved in human experiments, but apparently has amnesia; and you're like, 'What do I do? He's my BFF! '. What would you do, dad?"

His father stared at him with slightly widened eyes at the long-winded explanation, before a look of wisdom and maturity overtook his expression. He folded his hands in his laps and stared upwards.

"Well, son, that isn't the question you should be asking. You should be asking _yourself_ what you should and would do."

Fred froze. He gazed wide-eyed at his father, before a wide smile broke across his face.

"Dude, that is the sickest line ever! Man, I should write that down!" Fred exclaimed as he jumped to a stand and threw his hands up in the air; he paused in his flurry of excitement, lowered his hands, and glanced back at his father. "Thanks, dad!"

His father nodded slowly and deeply.

"Go on, son. Be your own hero."

* * *

Callaghan was vaguely aware of the fact that a ragged burlap sack had been thrown over his head. He was also vaguely aware of the fact that he had been transferred from the security facility to an entirely different location together and that he was now sitting on a cold metal chair with his hands tied behind his back. He had been vaguely aware of all these things for a long stretch of time. However, it wasn't until the burlap sack was pulled off of his head that he realized how dire his situation was.

He winced as the shade of darkness provided by the sack was replaced by a bright light that hung overhead. As soon as his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he quickly assessed his surroundings. He was currently sitting stagnant in a small gray room. The room was occupied by three other people — two who were bound in two of the three chairs that dotted the room. The third person stood at the center of the room and was peering down at him through a strange octopus-themed mask.

"What?!" Callaghan shook his head as his eyes darted around the room. "What's going on? Where am I?"

"I am your serviceman, Octopus, Professor Callaghan." the mask-wearing man said in a sing-song voice. "I hope you enjoy your stay!"

"Callaghan?!" came a shout of disbelief from one of the two who was bound and seated. "Is that you?"

Callaghan's gaze flickered around the room, until it landed on the one who had spoken; then, his eyes widened. Before him sat none other than Alistair Krei (the man whom he had taken strides to destroy in a mad bout of revenge) who looked rather worn out and dirty. Other than that, the man appeared as he always had — proud, coy, and defiant.

"Krei?!" Callaghan gasped. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same…" Krei answered with narrowed eyes. "Have you gone mad again? Is this another plot to kill me?"

Before Callaghan could spit at the man, another voice interrupted them:

"Please!" came the whining shout. "I've already told you everything I know! I told you about those two already, so please let me go!"

The shout came from the last occupant of the room who was also bound and seated in a steel chair. Said occupant looked as if he had just jumped off of a cliff. Blood and sweat clung to his face; his clothing was ripped in several places; and his face was almost unrecognizable.

"Please…" the man begged as he choked on a sob. "Let me… go…"

Callaghan and Krei stared at the battered man with wide eyes. Their venomous words were stuck in their throats, and their hearts began hammering wildly in their chests.

The octopus-masked man paid no heed to the man's pleads and continued to study Callaghan's and then Krei's faces. He appeared to be contemplating something, considering an idea. Such contemplation and consideration was abruptly cut short as the door behind him opened. Octopus-man — or so Callaghan deemed him — turned and tilted his head at the new arrival in the room.

"Fox, what are you doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious. I'm taking over. Leave."

The Octopus-man muttered under his breath and pouted for a moment, before he eventually obliged and exited the room. His replacement stepped forward into the light—

Dark hair, dark and intelligent eyes. Dark bags underlining the eyes. A stolid expression. Pink scar tissue running along this expression down to the exposed arm.

Callaghan's eyes widened. He had thought that he had simply inputed the memory of the man before him into the recent events that had unfolded; but the paradox that stood before him completely voided the theory.

"Wait," Alistair gaped as he leaned forward and squinted at the man's face, "aren't you… one of the Hamada brothers?" His eyes widened, "That can't be… you…"

"Oh." Tadashi (Kitsune, was it?) blinked, placing a hand on his hip. "So, you know this face too."

"You survived…" Callaghan murmured in barely a whisper — and in that moment, he felt a strange sense of relief wash over him, like a weight had been taken off of his chest. "You're alive…" He shook his head in confusion: "But how? And why are you with these masked people?" It was a very ironic question that was met with a very ironic answer:

"Please don't act familiar with me. Other than the fact that you've formerly dabbled with CASCO, I have no idea who you are."

Callaghan stared at Tadashi's blank expression in confusion, before something clicked in his head — had the man lost his memories? That actually explained a lot of things. Callaghan's gaze flickered temporarily to Alistair's face; and their eyes met.

"It's me — Professor Callaghan." Callaghan explained.

"I'm Alistair Krei." Allistar added in helpfully. "We got along swelly. I was at the showcase, remember?"

"When I said that I didn't know who you were," Tadashi replied dryly, "I didn't mean that I didn't know what your names were, nor did I mean that I didn't know who you generally were." There was annoyance in the monotone of his voice.

"I was your professor." Callaghan pressed on as he tugged defiantly against his binds. "You were my student — one of my best students! During one of Sanfransokyo University's showcases a fire broke out, and you... rushed in to save me… Don't you remember?" A look of guilt flashed across Callaghan's face: "Everyone thought you had perished in the fir—

A loud and dry laugh suddenly echoed in the room, it's sound originating from none other than the mouth of Tadashi Hamada himself. Said Tadashi was wearing an amused expression that was hidden by the hand that he had smacked onto his forehead. As the man registered Alistair and Callaghan's grim and uneasy expressions, his laughter died away and his expression thinned:

"Oh, you were being serious." He said comically in his strange monotone cadence, before he clicked his tongue and averted his gaze. "How stupid. No wonder that me died."

Callaghan wanted to shout out that Tadashi's actions hadn't been stupid but that would have contradicted what he himself had condemned Tadashi's actions to be — "Well, then it was his mistake!". He regretted those words immensely; and he decided at that moment that he would do all he could to make up for them by saving his student who had tried to save him. (Or perhaps was he just trying to preserve his own life? He couldn't quite tell.)

"You didn't die, Mr. Hamada." Callaghan tried slowly. "You're still here..." He shook his head and averted his gaze. "What happened to you?"

"You said that Tadashi was your best student." Tadashi stated calmly, evidently ignoring Callaghan's previous remarks. He reached for an object that was tucked under his arm and chucked it at the man. It smacked Callaghan right in the stomach before it plopped loosely on his lap.

Callahan studied the object — the book — closely, before his eyes widened and his expression softened. He glanced upwards at Tadashi and spoke: "Biomechanics. You specialized in the field."

"I've tried reading the book thrice now." Tadashi muttered, his eyes becoming narrowed and an unreadable expression folding itself across his face. "I don't understand any of it." He paused, lifting his eyes to observe Callaghan's expression, before he spoke again: "I guess that solidifies the fact that I'm no longer this Tadashi person."

Callaghan stared at him, listened intently to him. Had he perhaps… heard… _regret..._ in the man's voice? Desperation, even?

"Well," Callaghan licked his dried lips and spoke gently, "you've lost your memories, Mr. Hamada. Such a thing happening isn't unusual. If… If you—-"

"—if you let us go," Krei interrupted him, "we could get you help. I'll give you anything you want — money, land, anything!"

Whatever connection Callaghan had made with Tadashi broke off with that statement. Tadashi — no, Kitsune — glowered darkly at Krei. His expression was stolid, but disgust and annoyance flickered in his eyes. And then—

"Please!" came the cry of the beaten man who sat tied in the corner. "Let me go… I have a family! Please! Please, please, pleas—

The man's words became lodged in his throat as he registered Kitsune turn and approach him. His begs became whimpers; and he soon found himself gazing a steely, dark eyes. The stare lasted for a long moment — a moment that seemed to last for an enternity. Finally, the man found the courage to speak again:

"Please—"

"Shut up…" Kitsune deadpanned; and he reached down and grabbed the man's hair, pulling the man to eye-level. "You're noisy."

The man cried out in pain and blubbered senseless words as he struggled against Kitsune's hold and his bindings that held him to his chair. This blubbering evidently irritated Kitsune further, and he dragged the man (with his chair) by his hair across and out of the room. The door to the room slammed to a close and screaming emanated from behind it.

Callaghan and Alistair sat frozen and completely shocked by the sudden turn of events. Callaghan was filled with disbelief, while Alistair was filled with growing anxiety.

"We're screwed. Some top-notch student your raised there, Callaghan." Alistair muttered shakily under his breath. "Why are we even here? I haven't done anything wrong..."

"That's rich coming from you." Callaghan spat through gritted teeth as his eyes lingered on the doorway. He tugged on his bindings to no avail and swore under his breath; he then paused, side-glancing at Alistair who was also struggling against his bindings, and said in a steady and calm voice: "Evidently this has something to do with CASCO."

Alistair paled; and his eyes narrowed, sharp intelligence glinting in them.

"But…" he drew slowly. "I've barely even involved with myself with them… After I found out what programs they wanted my support on, I—

"You hid like the coward you are." Callaghan finished for him.

"What about you?" Alistair scowled. "You obviously dabbled in their affairs to—

The door to the room swung open, cutting him off short. Tadashi — Kitsune — re-entered the room with an indifferent expression and with a now emptied and slightly blood-stained chair held loosely in his hand. He stepped forward and closed the door behind him with his foot and walked towards the center of the room, where he placed the chair down backwards, and sat on it.

The air around him was different from before. The vulnerableness, the curiosity, and the rough yet odd gentleness that had emanated from him had all but dissipated. In it's place was an equally odd and cold emptiness.

"Mr. Hamada…" Callaghan tried.

"Kitsune." Kitsune corrected him, before he leaned forward on the back of the chair and allowed his gaze to drift towards Alistair's grim face. "You two have quite the history. I've heard that you two have been involved with a number of the same research projects. Two elite scientists — a corrupt businessman and a criminal." His gaze drifted towards Callaghan. "CASCO. You've heard of it."

It was evident that he was no longer going to be friendly with them.

"Yes, we've heard of it." Alistair answered quickly. "It's a multi-conglomerate corporation — a monopoly majoring in scientific research and… banking for some reason. Any hobo on the street could tell you that."

"Scientific research." Kitsune repeated, folding his hands over the back of the chair and resting his head on them. "There's the keyword."

"Mr. Hama — er, Kitsune," Callaghan whispered under his breath, "I don't think you understand what you're getting involved in. If you're referring to what I think you are, you could be endangering you and your family and friends."

"Family and friends — I don't have them..." Kitsune answered in a bored tone, betraying his furrowing eyebrows. "As for getting involved," he glanced at the man, "I would be lying if I wasn't already involved with them. Project Doubutsu."

"How do you...?" Callaghan gaped, eyes widening; and then the realization struck him, causing his lips to quiver slightly. "No... Don't tell me that you were..."

"Quite the tragedy..." Kitsune answered with a thin smile that didn't match his eyes.

"Look." Krei drew slowly with a firm frown. "I ridded myself of that company once I found out that they were doing human experiments, so I don't know anything that could help you out."

"Even keeping that in consideration," Kitsune tilted his head in Krei's direction, "I assume you know the identity of the project head — and no, I don't mean the acting puppet who played in his or her place. Very few people seem to know his or her true identity; and those who know happen to know fall to very unfortunate accidents, so you can see my predicament. Too many complications." He paused, allowing his gaze to sweep over them. "With the two of you here, one of you is bound to tell the truth."

"Tadashi…" Callaghan began, before he was abruptly cut off—

"Don't..." Kitsune glowered darkly, before he winced, lowered his head, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "... call me that. Don't."

"It _is_ your name." Callaghan said pointedly, softly.

"Was." Kitsune insisted as he buried his head in his hands and began to rub his temples. He then groaned softly: "... Shit."

Callaghan and Krei exchanged looks. An opportunity had opened up for them; and they needed to tread carefully, if they wanted to use this opening to their advantage. So, Callaghan thought carefully, thought of things that would maybe click something into place in Tadashi's memory; and he prepared to speak—

"Mr. Callaghan." Kitsune drew suddenly, his shoulders becoming relaxed and then rigid. He lowered his hands and stared at Callaghan directly in the eyes. His gaze was chilling, but not as chilling as the smile that curled up his face. "Am I correct when I say that you have a daughter."

Krei paled, while Callaghan's expression became a mixture of horror and indescribable fury.

"Why you—

The door to the room flew open once more; and a small figure slithered in. Said figure darted to the center of the room where Kitsune sat; and it wrapped its arms around his neck, causing the man to start in surprise.

"Kitsune…" the figure drew in a sing-song voice.

"What do you want, Hebi." Kitsune side-glanced back at the figure — the girl — and earned a toothy-grin in turn.

"A kid…?" Krei muttered under his breath.

"I was just seein' if you were broodin' or somethin' again." The girl (Hebi?) answered him with a pout. "Why are you hanging with these losers when you could be hanging out with a hot person like me?"

"I'm not 'hanging' with them." Kitsune replied dryly. "I'm questioning them."

"Oh, yeah, 'bout that." She murmured, untangling herself from his neck and craning her neck so that she could look him in the eyes. "Tako played tattletale to Ookami and that bitc—uncouth woman was all like 'Kitsune can't just charge in and do that. He's not a people person anyways!' or something like that. And I was all 'He so is! You're just jealous' and then—"

"Alright, Hebi." Kitsune interrupted in a clipped (and possibly embarrassed?) tone, as he rose from his seat. "I understand the situation."

He swung his leg over the chair and hefted the object over his shoulder. The action earned him a raised eyebrow from the girl.

"And where are you taking that chair?"

"I cleared it off," Kitsune explained glancing down at her with a slightly miffed frown, "so it's mine now."

"Don't tell me that you're angry at Tako?" Hebi laughed loudly as she looped her hand around his free arm; she peered into his face and grinned wider. "Ha, look at that! You have a cute side too. Cute and hot and all in one package — I can't take it!"

"Enough, Hebi."

Thus, they headed to the doorway, arm-in-arm. Callaghan shouted something incomprehensible at the two, while Krei called Tadashi's name one last time. At the utterance of the name, Hebi's head snapped backwards and she sent the two men a look. It was a look that no child should have ever been able to make. With that look, the two men knew that she would not hesitate to kill them. Kitsune's reaction was, however, different. He paused (No, he was completely frozen.) by the doorway and glanced backwards at the two men with a lowered gaze. It was a gaze that Callaghan recognized. Sympathetic and apologetic.

"I'm sorry for whatever happens next…"

Hebi's eyes widened at the spoken phrase and she tugged on the man's arm hard. This seemed to snap Kitsune out of whatever trance he had been in; and he gazed down at the girl in confusion. No, it wasn't confusion; he looked down at her like he had never seen her before in his life.

"Hir—?"

"Kitsune." Hebi pressed, digging her fingernails into his arm, as she searched his eyes desperately. "Let's go."

He winced; and the hardness in his eyes returned just like that.

"Let go of me first." Kitsune deadpanned. "The three of us can't fit through the doorway."

"Just let go of the damned chair then!" She scowled.

"... The chair holds more of an importance to me."

"What?! That's so mean! I just complimented your cuteness and hotness too!"

"Shut up; and let's go."

"Seriously? That is so not cute!"

Eventually the two (and the chair) managed to make it through the doorway, leaving a very baffled Krei and a frowning Callaghan in their wake.

* * *

When Hiro arrived with Baymax in tow at the doors leading to the Robotics Division of San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, he was both surprised and unsurprised to find a crowd of four already waiting for him on the building's steps. Said four were equipped head-to-do in glistening armor and gear; and they approached him as he approached them.

"Guys… Fred…" Hiro murmured. "I'm sorry for exploding earlier. I was—"

"No, I'm sorry, Hiro." Fred interrupted him, appearing rather serious. "I should have been honest, man."

"Look." Gogo elbowed him in the ribs. "Everyone here is sorry is the vibe I'm getting." She then glanced down at Hiro and smiled warmly. "Now, we're all here for a reason, aren't we?"

"Tadashi…" Honey Lemon murmured, her soft voice betraying the spark of life in her eyes. "and Callaghan too… We'll save them both — with you, Hiro."

"We're all in this together." Wasabi nodded firmly.

"Alright!" Fred grinned widely, fist-pumping the air. "Now: what team are we?!"

A loud sigh, the rolling of eyes, a suppressed laugh, a bright smile, a blink of confusion.

"Big Hero Six!" came the chorus of shouts.

"Uh, no." Fred gaped. "It's the 'Wildcats', guys! Highschool Musical, anyone?"

He received a slap over the head as an answer.

The weather outside appeared to have worsened since he had entered the building to question the two men. It was easy to tell that rain would soon fall.

Leaning on the railing of the roof, Kitsune stared up at the darkening clouds. A thin cigarette hung loosely in his mouth, its glowing tip producing a steady stream of gray that rose to the sky. Hebi sat on the ground beside him with her feet sticking out in between the railings and dangling off of the roof's edge. She was humming under her breath and bobbing her head from left to to right to the rhythm of her song. Beside her and sitting on an out-of-place metal chair was Usagi. He was thrumming his fingertips along the surface of the rails to her tune as well. It was otherwise quiet.

A drop of water fell down from the sky and landed on Kitsune's dark head. The cigarette fell from his lips and down to the empty street below.

"Oh."

Usagi and Hebi turned towards him curiously; and he slowly turned to meet their gazes with a blank expression.

"... I just remembered."

"What is it, Kitsune?"

"They — the Big Hero Six — they have a tracking device."

A loud and crashing boom resounded beneath them, followed by the trembles of the entirety of the building.

* * *

Next Chapter: Shōtotsu ( 衝突 )

∟ "Clash"

"_He landed punch after punch, causing an endless thwacking cacophony to fill the air. _

'_Give him back.' Hiro shouted repeatedly and hoarsely between punches. 'Give my brother back!' Suddenly, all the energy that had been building up until this moment ebbed away; and his punches weakened, until they could barely even be registered as a touch. 'Please... give him back.'_

_He wanted those cold, indifferent eyes staring up at him to disappear; but they remained glued to his face despite his wishes._

'_If you want Tadashi back so badly, I suppose you'll have to kill me to get to him.'_

…

_Ookami couldn't quite register what was happening. Flash of yellow after flash of yellow, the color came at her, knocking her left and right. _

_She was dealing with a demon of speed._

…

_Fred froze as found himself eye-to-eye with the nose of a gun._

'_You ain't Wolverine, Godzilla, so you're not gonna survive this bullet straight through your head. Oh, wait. You're dressed up as Godzilla? A cosplay? Is this Comic Con? I need to check my calender, 'cause I missed the last con, like how Spiderman missed catching Gwen Stacy—'_

'_Wait. You're a comic fan too?!'_

_The gun lowered._

'_Woah. Pause. You appreciate the art of it too?'_

_..._

'_I'm not really much of a fan of fighting,' Wasabi admitted with a sigh._

_His statement was met with a good-natured laugh._

'_Well,' the man known as Usagi grinned lightly, 'I'm not either, which is rather unfortunate, because it looks like we're enemies.'_

_..._

'_I'm not giving up on you!'_"

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, these chapters just keep getting longer and longer. Anyways, this chapter was meant to be a transition chapter into the second part of the story, so I apologize if it was a bit boring. Also, I accidentally spelled Allistair like five different ways in this chapter. I tried to fix most of them, but…

Anyways, thanks to all those who read, followed, and favorited!

A big thanks to…

bukulay: Huzzuh! /grins evily. He _does_ have to redeem himself one way or another…

freebird4: Aw, thanks! ;3

eliwats22: I can't help it. I'm kind of a sadist.

sykim423rose: THANK YOU SO MUCH! YOURE MAKING ME BLUSH, FRIEND.

Silverblueroses: Thank you for your compliments! ; u ;

Weeldx: Alright, I'll try to squeeze some in!

The Wayfaring Strangers: Yup! Hebi isn't going to swear much in this story anymore. Tisk, tisk, Tadashi indeed…

Guest (1): MANY THANKS. YOUR COMPLIMENTS MEAN A LOT.

Guest (2): Alright!

Sabeloid: Lmfao, your review made me laugh and blush at the same time. /showers you in Baymaxes.

Elsa the Night Fury: Yup, yup. It's confrontation time now.

GalacticTrooper954: Yeah, it's expected. I hope I'm not portraying them as too annoying though xD

Sky: Thank you much! ; u ;

Random Reader 17: I'm a sadist; I can't help it xD. Here's an update for you!

Ethian V: Yeah, you're right xD. And suspicious? I hope that that's a good thing!

FanGirlJen: Thanks! ;3

d3213: Aw, thanks for the compliments! A confrontation between the two brothers will happen in the next chappie!

teengens: I'm kind of just throwing hints of pairings in this fic, not actually laying down pairings for fact; so I guess you can see the pairings if you want and not see it if you don't want to... Did that make sense? xD. Many thanks for your compliments!

Rebel S2: Many thanks, and here is an update for you!

shards of a sonata: Poor Callaghan indeed… He still rubs me the wrong way though.

Producciones Escudo: Here's a chapter for you that will hopefully clear up those mixed feelings!

Fuhji poudes-Escapa non: Aw, thanks for the compliments! And… as for the backstory of the animal group… that'll probably happen around chapter twelve, I think!

Charmfeather: It makes me really happy that my story captivates people ;3. Thanks for the compliments!

… for reviewing!


	10. Clash

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Tenth Encounter_: Shōtotsu ( 衝突 )

∟ "Clash"

* * *

It was strange but simple.

It began with one: a snapshot of teary wetness that plummeted downwards from the sky. It was an innocent, stray rain droplet; but it was a harbinger of something greater. Not soon after it fell, several more snapshots followed. One after the other, pitter and patter. They sounded like thrown beads against rubber on the asphalt street. But it wasn't their sounds that made the raindrops so strange. It was the images that were captured on their surfaces as they fell that made them peculiar. To be more precise, their strangeness came in the form of the reflected, odd snapshots of chaos they captured on their surfaces. The snapshots of the clashes occurring around a particular building. Snapshots of chaoting clashing.

* * *

A few minutes before the building in which the animals resided was subjugated to tremors, the Big Hero Six were just beginning to enter the building's general vicinity. Surprisingly, the building appeared more mundane and ordinary than the daunting pseudo-mansion-laboratory that they had pictured in their minds. Whether this fact was to cause relief or distress was yet to be determined.

"So…" Fred murmured from where hung mid-air in Baymax's left arm. "What's the plan?"

His question was met with uncertain silence.

"Oh!" Honey Lemon exclaimed suddenly from on top of Baymax's back; she dug into her chemical-purse and gripped a collection of unknown objects in her palms. "These are just a prototype, but…" She delicately doled the unknown objects out to those around her, so that each of them held one object in hand.

"This is one sick looking bouncy ball." Was Fred's only comment.

"What is it?" Wasabi raised an eyebrow as he rolled the object in hand. "One of your chemical compounds?"

"It's a prototype that I made earlier," Honey Lemon explained, "so you should only use it in extreme emergencies. It'll help bridge the gap of physical strength between us and them."

"Physical strength?" Wasabi raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, yes…" Honey Lemon averted her gaze. "I think they use an earlier version of that blue serum we destroyed back in the warehouse."

"Oh…" Wasabi averted his eyes as well. "I see."

The conversation lapsed into silence; and they neared the looming building with a deathly atmosphere surrounding them. Suddenly Hiro, having skimmed Baymax's scan log of the building, broke the silence with a single phrase:

"Okay. I have a plan."

* * *

Ookami was the first to reach the lower lobby area. And she was the first to register the fact that the door leading into the lobby area and the wall surrounding it were missing. She could only gape incredulously at the sight.

Dust and plaster rained down like a storm from the ceiling and coated the floor in layers. Coming down along with this raining came frayed swinging wires that swished back and forth and spouted sparks from their mouths. In the middle of all those chaos stood a figure, hand on hip, coated in a yellow suit. The figure vaguely reminded Ookami of a racecar driver, ready for speed and action.

Tensing, Ookami pulled up the wolf mask that was hanging loosely around her neck up to her face. She breathed deeply, her senses sharpening and her muscles hardening beneath her skin. Her eyes narrowed from behind the wolf-mask and a firm line formed her mouth.

"Who are you?"

Her answer came in the form of sound: a bubble popping.

The figure's hand jerked upwards and a yellow disk — like the sun, Ookami thought vaguely — sliced through the air.

"Play fetch, puppy." Came the taunt.

* * *

The building was still trembling with the aftermath of the explosion — or at least that was what the three residing on the building's top assumed the trembling to be caused by. The force of the building's shakes forced Hebi to cling tightly to the railings for support, while Usagi and Kitsune struggled to maintain their balance with widespread arms.

"A tracking device?!" She yelled shrilly at Kitsune's sudden reveal; then, she scowled, and something dangerous glinted in her eyes. "Those stalkers!"

"Your friends sure know how to make an entrance." Usagi sighed pleasantly, earning a glare from both Kitsune and Hebi. "... assuming that our guests are the Big Hero Six, that is."

"They are _not_ my friends—"

"How the hell can you joke around in a situation like this?!" Hebi interrupted them both, as a manic expression stretched itself cruelly over her face. "We're being _attacked_, Usagi. We need to fight back!"

The girl scrambled to her feet and began to sprint towards the doorway, before a hand jerked her backwards. She whipped her head around with furious eyes, eyes that soon widened and softened.

"K-Kitsune?"

"They're formidable." He told her calmly. "You would be creating complications if you recklessly charged in."

Her reaction to his statement contrasted the reaction he desired.

"You're worried about me?" Her eyes widened as her lips curled upwards. "Don't worry, Kitsune, I can handle those brats perfectly fine!"

The hand gripping her wrist tightened causing her to wince.

"Don't be stupid." Kitsune hissed as he pulled the girl back towards him. "You'll only be an annoyance."

Hebi bit her lip at his remark. Her eyes narrowed and her lips curled downwards. It was evident that she was both insulted and hurt by what he had said.

"Usagi," Kitsune continued as he averted his eyes from her face, "secure Callaghan and Krei."

"Already on it." Usagi replied from the doorway before he descended the stairwell and disappeared from sight.

The two stared after him for a moment; they stood frozen there until the shakes of the building stilled. When the tremors became replaced by the soft whispers of drizzling rain, they melted into the downfall and sluggishly pushed themselves into action.

"So," Hebi frowned, "what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"We're leaving." Kitsune answered simply.

Hebi stared at him blankly. She was evidently unsure of whether or not he had been joking, but Kitsune never joked around, so that meant — the cold eyes with which he was glaring at her finalized her realization — he was being serious.

"What..." Hebi shook her head. "Why? Are we going to get some back up or something?"

"Don't be stupid." Kitsune deadpanned. "We're leaving because it's the logical thing to do."

"Kitsune." Hebi pressed as she gripped his arm tightly, desperately. "What about the others?"

"What about them." Kitsune blinked down at her. "Usagi can take care of himself. He is going to retrieve Callaghan and Krei for us. Weren't you listening."

"Ookami, Neko, Taka, Tako, Hitsuji — what about them?"

Kitsune's eyes narrowed; and he detached the white mask that was hanging at his waist from his belt and slid it onto his face, before he decided to answer her:

"They can manage by themselves. But they don't matter. What matters is that we get the answers from Callaghan and Krei. That's what we all agreed on. Our top priority."

The rain pattered down on his white mask and created shining streaks along its grooves and curves. From where Hebi stood, it looked as if the fox-faced man was crying.

"Snap out of it, Hebi." Kitsune frowned down at her. "We need to move now."

Hebi loved the man. She really did. She adored him even. She adored his strength, his resilience, his calming aura, his determination, his coyness, his physical appearance (of course!), and most of all the moments where his walls would crumble down and the corners of his mouth would flicker upwards. But he was not perfect. He was not kind. She knew this fact already; she had accepted it; and she had come to the conclusion that kindness was not a needed human trait long ago, so the fact that he was unkind had never mattered to her.

But now…?

The cold eyes that stared down at her made something in her chest twinge unfavorably. She tried to understand what was causing this twinging; and a realization dawned on her.

"Hebi."

Kitsune only had self-preservation in mind. Survival, in other words.

"Let's go."

Would he leave her behind too once she was deemed a "complication" by him?

Before she could even consider an answer to her thought of question, a loud rumbling sound rolled through the air. It vaguely reminded her of the roaring turbines of an airplane intermingled with the booming of thunder. A gust of gale updrafting from the side of the building followed this noise; and from the corner of her eye, Hebi could see shades of purple and red glinting in the rain.

"Come on, Tadashi," rang a familiar voice, "only nerds would ditch a party like this one."

* * *

Mobility was difficult, but that fact didn't make Fred like his suit any less. It was only several steps short of being one of the greatest things in the world! Additionally, the suit's outlandish appearance was proving to be an advantage in his current mission. It proved to be a wonderful distraction.

Fred thought these positive thoughts as he ran along the second floor hallway of the trembling building while slamming a metal pipe against a trashcan lid. The cacophonic noise resonating from the jarring beats merged with the scuffling sounds that resounded from different areas of the building. Fred would have been worried about the sounds several weeks ago, but things were different now. He had faith in his fellow dudes (his Fred's Angels). He knew perfectly well that they could manage themselves even without his top-notch leadership skills.

Right now, Fredzilla needed to focus. According to Baymax, the number of enemies on this floor numbered two (at least it had been when they had first arrived). The total number of people within the building had been ten. Seven out of ten of them had been marked as enemies. They did not count Tadashi as an adversary but as a damsel in distress like Callaghan and Krei.

"Come out and play with Fredzilla, you evil dudes!" Fred rapped at the top of his lungs as he continued to slam metal against metal. "I'm totally rocking out uninvited in your base here; and I'm being really rudes!"

Much to Fred's surprise, his rapping taunts worked. One of the doors lining of the hallway creaked open and a figure of short stature emerged from the doorway into the hall. The figure glanced down the opposite wing of the hallway, before turning to register Fred.

They stared at each other.

"Who are you?"

Now, Fred had practiced his heroic introduction line many times at home in front of a mirror. He had used varying tones of voices, ranging from melodramatic to mysterious and had even practiced his poses. Even so, he was now at a loss for words at the sudden change of events, so he ended up with a less than up to par introduction:

"It's 'Zilla, Fredzilla."

The figure blinked at him slowly as Fred entered an offensive stance.

"Oh, okay." the figure nodded. "I'm Hitsuji."

"... Okay." Fred nodded back. "Not very super-villainy, but it's cool, man."

They stared at each other.

"So…" Fred drew slowly. "Are we gonna do a brawly thing or have a meaningful heart-to-heart morality talk?"

"I don't know…" Hitsuji mumbled. "What would you like to do?"

"Uh…" Fred raised an eyebrow as he straightened himself. "How about a morality talk?"

"Okay." A nod.

Fred wasn't sure whether or not this Hitsuji person was on the same team as the kabuki-masked people. His aura was different from them; and something about him was rather… off. But Fred was Fred, so he took the strangeness in with full stride.

"Okay, so you know you and your kabuki dudes are on the totally opposite side of justice, right?" Fred probed and preached like a chaplain; he tapped the butt of the metal pipe on the floor and nodded fiercely. "And that isn't cool at all."

Hitsuji blinked at Fred slowly again before his gaze shifted. He was staring at something that was beyond the reptilic young man. Realizing this, Fred turned and came face-to face-with the beak of a hawk-mask and the barrel of a gun.

* * *

Wasabi and Honey Lemon slinked carefully and quietly along the third-floor hallway. They kept to the shadows and to the wall as to not be quickly discovered. Staying hidden was key. The two of them made up the retrieval team, afterall. While the others distracted the enemies within the building, they were to find and rescue Callaghan and Krei.

"Hey, Honey Lemon..." Wasabi whispered under his breath as they paused beneath the leaves of an artificial plant grounded in a clay vase.

"Hmmm?" Her eyes scanned the area ahead.

"Where do you think Tadashi is at?" He asked quietly. "I mean, do you think he's on this floor?"

Honey Lemon paused and turned back to face him. She had on a contemplative expression.

"I don't think so..." She answered him after a pause. "Hiro said that Baymax's scanners indicated that there were three people on this floor, right? Callaghan and Krei are two of them."

"But the other one..."

"Neither of them are likely to be Tadashi." She replied, her expression becoming unreadable. Her eyes drifted towards the cracked ceiling above them. "If anything... Hiro is probably..."

Wasabi's eyes widened at her unspoken theory; and he grimaced deeply, saying under his breath, "You don't think that Hiro would..." He paused, sighing and shaking his head in defeat. "What am I saying? Of course he would!"

"I have faith in Hiro." Honey Lemon smiled a reassuring smile. "He will be fine. Tadashi will too."

"I hope so..."

They rose from their crouch and drifted down the hallway once more. The floorboards groaned noisily under their feet causing them to wince. Staying quiet and hidden was a surprisingly difficult task. Nevertheless, they continued to inch forward, passing two wooden doors as they did so. According to Baymax, Callaghan and Krei were being held in the fourth room on the floor; therefore, they were only two doors away from their destination. The third door passed them by quickly. When the reached the fourth door, they paused in front of it. Their hesitance was clear.

Pushing through her uneasiness, Honey Lemon reached for the doorknob. Her fingertips barely reached its silvery surface before the door suddenly swung open. She jerked backwards and collided with Wasabi who stood frozen behind her.

Standing in the doorway before them was a large, rabbit-mask-wearing man who had two unconscious bodies slung over his shoulders.

* * *

Hiro jumped off of Baymax's back and alighted onto the rooftop building. He deactivated the visor of his helmet and gazed at the two other occupants of the roof. One of the two sent him a glare that was filled with a mixture of venom, malice, horror, and rage. It was a snake-like glare, narrowed eyes, scowl and all. The other occupant, on the other hand…

"Y'know that whole emo assassin thing you've got going on there—" Hiro forced a grin as he gestured at the fox-mask-wearing occupant's attire. "It just doesn't suit your style at all, bro."

"Hiro Hamada." Kitsune — no, Tadashi — murmured.

"I told you to stay away from Kitsune!" Hebi shouted shrilly and suddenly as she stepped in-between the two young men — the two brothers; she gritted her teeth and reached for her belt, pulling out a sharp knife from its strap and pointing it at the younger boy. "He's not a part of your stupid group anymore!"

Hiro glared at her with a steady gaze. It was unfalteringly, hard, and determined. It caused Hebi's own glare to falter; and she glared instead at the floor, while still gripping the knife tightly in her hand.

"She's right." Kitsune spoke suddenly in a soft voice. "I'm not part of your group anymore, little brother."

Hiro and Hebi froze and turned their heads towards the fox-masked man.

"Tadashi… You remember?" Hiro asked in barely a whisper as he took a step forward. "You ... know who I am?"

"Of course." Kitsune answered matter-of-factly as he took a step forward as well. "I could never forget you, little brother." He stood only several feet away from Hiro now and stared calmly at him from behind his mask: "But, I need you to leave now, Hiro. I can't explain it to you now, but I need you to take the others with you too. Get out of here, Hiro." He placed a hand on the adolescent's shoulder, gripping it tightly. "Please…"

There was a long pause of silence.

"I remember you being a better liar than that." Hiro murmured, staring the man right in the eye. "I guess losing your memories made your lose your lying abilities too, huh?"

Kitsune allowed his hand to slide off of the adolescent's shoulder and to rest on his hip. He glanced down at the boy with a slightly impressed expression.

"It was worth an attempt." He admitted calmly as his hip-resting hand drifted towards an object that was hanging on his belt; he glanced backwards at the young girl behind him. "Hebi, handle the robot."

The girl looked peeved by the order but complied nonetheless. She dashed at the stationary robot and drew out a long stream of metal wire that slithered out from a contraption that hung at her waist.

Hiro didn't have the time to react to the sudden offensive action against his friend; because his brother's next words caught him completely off guard:

"I'll handle the boy."

Removing the black and white wakizashi (*) from its sheathe that hung at his belt, Kitsune drove the blade across the adolescent's neck.

* * *

Ookami leaned left as the disk hurtled towards her head. It whizzed, buzzing like a chainsaw, past her ear. Before she could return to her original position, however, she found that another disk was hurtling towards her. She ducked right; and it passed her in a whine.

Easy.

She frowned beneath her mask and focused her eyes on the figure before her.

Too easy.

Pain suddenly shot across her back in two different areas and she found herself being flung forward by an unseen force. She skidded across the floor coming to a stop several feet away from her attacker. Glancing upwards, Ookami saw that the figure before her was once again holding the two thrown disks in hand.

How? It must have rebounded.

Without skipping a beat, Ookami swept her legs beneath her assailant's feet causing the latter to fall backwards in surprise. But the advantage only lasted for a second. Her suited attacker was back on his toes in an instant. Ookami scowled at the feat beneath her mask and sent a high-kick aimed at her attacker's head. The blow landed, effectively swiping off her attacker's helmet. A flare of black hair erupted from the helmet; and eyes as hard as steel glared through the black haze.

"Okay. Fine." Came Ookami's attacker's voice through gritted teeth. "Time to get even."

A woman. A formidable opponent.

The mask-wearing woman did not have any time to think any further, because another couplet of disks came flying in her direction.

* * *

Fred froze as he found himself eye-to-eye with the nose of a gun.

"You ain't Wolverine, Godzilla, so you're not gonna survive this bullet straight through your head. Oh, wait. You're dressed up as Godzilla? A cosplay? Is this Comic Con? I need to check my calender, 'cause I missed the last con, like how Spiderman missed catching Gwen Stacy—"

"Wait." Fred blinked at the mask-wearing gunman. "You're a comic fan too?!"

The gun lowered.

"Woah. Pause. You appreciate the art of it too?"

Fred nodded fiercely, straightening himself and brushing the still raised gun to the side. He studied the young man standing before him for a long moment, before he nodded approvingly:

"'Course, I do! What are you — DC or Marvel?"

"I don't like choosin' between the two." The man answered him with nonchalance; he removed his mask with his free hand and revealed to Fred his youthful face, before he explained any further: "It's not like it's some life or death decision or something that'll doom the world if you choose wrongly. Not that there is a wrong choice to choose. It ain't some 'choose this and you'll fall to the dark side, Anakin' thing. It's kind of like that one taco commercial with the soft shells and the hardshells: 'Why not both?'. Damn. That little taco-commercial girl is like Einstein-level genius I tell you."

Fred stared before he broke out into a wide grin.

"Dude, I completely agree with you." He nodded easily as he reached over and slung an arm over the young man's shoulder. "We should ban together to create an anti-fan-war movement to stop the whole DC vs Marvel thing. Do you know how sweet that would be?"

* * *

Everything seemed to be frozen like a single snapshot of a movie film. The man in the doorway stared at Honey Lemon and Wasabi; and the two stared back at him. It appeared as if all three of them were surprised about each other presences. And then, the snapshot shattered like a mirror.

Honey Lemon let out a shriek and swung her leg upwards and in-between the man's legs. There was a sickening crack; and a second later, the man was keeled over on the floor. The two unconscious bodies that he had been carrying collapsed onto the ground beside him.

"Sorry!" She apologized good-naturedly at the groaning man as she ran to the two bodies beside him; she gave a quick glanced at their faces and checked their pulses, before giving a relieved sigh. "Come on, Wasabi, help me carry Krei and Callaghan out of here."

Wasabi, after stepping gingerly over the groaning man, was at her side immediately. He bent down low and pulled Callaghan's — the man was the heavier of the two — arm over his shoulder and supported his weight. He glanced over his other shoulder and frowned at Honey Lemon worriedly:

"Do you think you can pull Krei's weight? Professor Callaghan is heavier than he looks."

—but Honey Lemon was already supporting Krei and was standing tall with a cheeky smile:

"Mr. Krei is lighter than he looks!"

"Or maybe you're just tough as nails." Wasabi laughed as he stepped over the still groaning man once more. "Anyways, let's hurry and get to the top floor and get these two to Baymax."

Honey Lemon gave a curt nod and followed him into the hallway.

The two sprinted down the hall as fast as they could manage. The deadweight of the unconscious men was slowing their pace significantly. They were barely able to reach the flight of stairs leading upwards before the man behind them stirred, sprinted, and lunged at them. Wasabi received the brunt of the man's lunge and toppled to the floor. Callaghan flopped loosely beside him. Honey Lemon skidded to a halt and prepared to rush to his side.

"No. Take Callaghan and go!" Wasabi shouted at her as he scrambled to a stand and faced his assailant. "I-I'll handle this one."

"Wasabi…" Honey Lemon shook her head fiercly.

"I'll buy you lunch later to make up for my big ego." Wasabi murmured, glancing back at her with a half-hearted smile. "So go!"

Honey Lemon watched as he activated his laser blades, before she nodded stiffly at him and bent down to pick up Callaghan's unconscious body. With much effort, she managed to lug him over her other shoulder and began to ascend the stairwell behind her.

"Very heroic of you." The masked-man complimented Wasabi in an easy tone.

* * *

Ookami couldn't quite register what was happening. Flash of yellow after flash of yellow, the color came at her, knocking her left and right.

She was dealing with a demon of speed. A demon that was overpowering her. A demon that was striking fear in her heart — NO. There was no way that this girl would be able to do such a thing. Not after everything she had been through. Not after all of the things that occured to get her to her current and despicable state. Impossible.

Another disk hurtled towards her; but Ookami did not move to dodge it this time. She tuned her ears in to the whining cacophony the whirling disk made as well as to the pounding of blood in her ears. Her heart was hammering madly away in her chest like a bomb that was ready to go off; and with that hammering came an electrical charge that shot throughout her entire body. Using that sudden surge of energy, Ookami raised her hand and caught the disk in her palms. It skidded as it came to a stop, but she ignored the burning pain it brought her.

"I won't lose." She growled through gritted teeth.

"Good." The young woman replied, spitting out the slab of gum she had been chewing. "Because neither will I — besides: now one has ever caught my disks twice."

Both women were unaware of the cat-like eyes that were observing them from the blackness of the stairway.

* * *

He had originally created them out of purely selfish reasons. After they had fulfilled their purpose, he had become inspired to use them to help others ("Think about the good you could do with that big brain of yours!"). He had watched them burn up in the flames of vengeance and had witnessed them being used to reach a disgustingly self-serving goal. Never again, he had declared then, would he let them be used for such despicable, hedonistic purposes. (They were never meant for such destructive, battle-reminiscent actions like that in the first place.)

But now—

Here he was selfishly and despicably using them. Going back on his very word. His selfishness was clear as day to him, but he didn't care whether or not he would be forgiven.

Afterall—

— was it really so terrible to use them to bring his big brother home?

The sound of steel against metal alloy rang loudly across the rooftop clearing. The wakizashi held in Kitsune's hand vibrated as it slid against a hardened black arc of shadow that had materialized between Hiro's pale neck and its sharpened edge. The man's eyes widened at the strangely familiar arc; and he pulled backwards.

Where had the blackness come from?

Hiro's eyes also widened but for an entirely different reason.

Had Tadashi really just attacked him?

The fluxuating black shadow shrank down to the ground and wavered like a snake at Hiro's feet. The adolescent was controlling them, Kitsune realized. Another complication, but...

"You've learned something new I see." He muttered under his breath; spinning the hilt of the blade in his hand so that he could hold it at a different angle, Kitsune found himself smirking. Adrenaline was ricocheting through his veins; and a strange sort of excitement was bubbling at his core. "Impressive."

"I know, right?" Hiro forced a smirk as he feigned checking his nails. "Helped me win the showcase, these things." He glanced upwards before he continued, "They're microbots, remember?"

His recieved answer once not one that he had been expecting nor was it one that he wanted. Kitsune charged at him like a bolt of lightning. The only thing that made Hiro aware of the fact that the man was on the move was the glinting of his blade in the dull sunlight. He was barely able to think up a shield of microbots in time to block the attack. But the attacks kept coming from different angles at an inhuman speed. Sure, Hiro was mentally quick on his feet; but that didn't necessarily mean that his reflexes were top-notch.

"Tadashi, stop it!" Hiro growled in disdain. "Dammit!"

"It's. Irritating. When. You. People. Keep. Saying. Remember. This. And. Remember. That." Kitsune answered him in clipped tones as he continued his onslaught. "I. Am. Not. Tadashi. Anymore. So. I. Can't. Remember. This. And. That."

"Ugh, you knucklehead!" Hiro gritted his teeth as he threw up his microbots this way and that. "Enough of that stupid melodramatic stuff! Snap out of whatever this is already!"

…

Behind them Baymax was facing his own foe — although Baymax didn't consider the girl who had wrapped countless wires around him to be his foe. If anything, she was another one of his patients. His scanners indicated that her body was being ravaged by the very same physically-enhancing drugs that were currently coursing through Tadashi's veins. Her inhumane strength proved how potent the serum was — she was strong enough to swing him round and round in the air via her wires with one hand. If Baymax had been programmed with neurological stimulators, he would have been puking his guts out.

Around and around he went, catching glimpses of the Hamada brothers' clashing here and there every few seconds. The sight of the engaged brothers made his circuits tingle. He was very concerned; no, he was worried. For both of them. But Hiro had reassured him as they had ascended the building; Hiro had told him that he wanted to face Tadashi himself and that he would manage just fine.

Still…

Baymax activated his thrusters and took off to the skies. The metal wires clacked noisily against his armor and squeaked against the armor's hard surface. Beneath him dangled his dubbed patient who was holding onto her end of the wire with a fierce light in her eyes.

…

Hiro gaped at the strange turn of events. Seconds earlier, Baymax had been helplessly whirling around in the air like he was guided by an unseen lasso; now, he was hovering in the air and whirling around like he was the one who was guiding the lasso. The person he was now guiding so happened to be Hebi. It was a ridiculous and distracting sight, so distracting that he didn't register the kick aimed at his stomach.

The kick sent him so far backwards that he nearly skidded off of the edge of the roof. Kitsune was on him in an instant. Pinning Hiro's waist down with his own sitting weight, the fox-mask-wearing held down the adolescent's neck and turned his wakizashi in hand so that its point was now directed downwards. Hiro's eyes widened. And the blade, guided by a determined hand, charged downwards—

— but —

— it stopped in its course just above Hiro's forehead. It was so close that Hiro could practically feel its cold tip against his skin.

Kitsune's eyes widened as he registered the fact that his hand was shaking. The blade would not go down no matter how hard he tried to force it to. Down. Just go down. Just cut him, damnit!

The man was so caught up in his own confusion that the adolescent pinned below him easily gained the upper hand. He was shoved backwards by the boy and fell on his back. Hiro was now on top of him. The roles had been reversed.

The boy's eyes were wide; the emotion that lay behind the dark pools was indescribable. Acting on this indescribable emotion, he grabbed at Kitsune's mask, whipped it off, and tossed it behind him. The mask was then devoured by the city below.

Hiro studied the face that was revealed. He absorbed every detail of that face that he could — the scarred tissue, the frayed black hair, the dark eyes that were underlined with bags, the firm mouth — and he saw that nearly everything was the same.

His fingers drifted towards the man's shirt collar, and they gripped the fringes of it tightly.

Everything was the same, but everything was different at the same time.

"I missed you, you know…" Hiro murmured as he lowered his head. "You and your stupid nerdiness… I even missed your lame jokes… But, why?" Hiro raised his head and gazed into Tadashi's — Kitsune's eyes — through a haze of tears; he gripped the man's collar tighter. "Why are you like this? What happened to you?"

A smirk.

Hiro's heart skipped a beat.

The eyes that glinted above that smirk were cold and cruel. In other words, Tadashi — no, the person who was wearing Tadashi's face — was _enjoying_ this.

Something within Hiro's chest shrunk, twinged, crumpled, and finally snapped at that moment. His hands balled up into fists; and before he could stop himself, he found that he was raising one of these fists and bringing it down on Kitsune's jaw.

The next few moments were a blur in his mind. He was only vaguely aware of the words that poured from his mouth and only half-conscious of his own actions: he landed punch after punch (or at least he thought he did), causing an endless thwacking cacophony to fill the air.

"Give him back." He shouted repeatedly and hoarsely between the punches. "Give my brother back!" Suddenly, all the energy that had been building up in his chest ebbed away; and his punches weakened, until they could barely even be registered by Kitsune as a touch. "Please... give him back..."

He just wanted those cold, indifferent eyes staring up at him to disappear; but they remained glued to his face despite his wishes.

"If you want Tadashi back so badly, I suppose you'll have to kill me to get to him."

With that spoken phrase, everything became clear again. Hiro blinked and lowered his hands as he stared into his brother's dark eyes. For a moment, the two brothers remained frozen there sitting quietly among the pile of scattered microbots.

(Baymax was still whirling above their heads and had somehow managed to get Hebi entangled in her own web. Despite this fact, the robot kept on spinning and spinning, while Hebi was appearing greener and greener.)

Then, the next moment saw to Kitsune knocking Hiro backwards. Once again, Hiro nearly skidded off of the rooftop edge. They scramble to their feet in unison and stared at each other once more. Their link was broken off as Kitsune's eyes darted downwards towards where his wakizashi lay discarded on the cracked floor; Hiro followed his gaze and started once he realized what the man was aiming for.

Kitsune dove for the blade; and just as it was in his fingertips, a shadow of metallic blackness swept it away from him. That blackness scooped up the weapon like how a hand would scoop up water and dropped it over Hiro's head. He caught the weapon mid-air and found himself extending it outward and pointing its tip in Kitsune's direction.

An expression of surprise flickered across the man's face, before it was replaced by an expression of amusement. The man straightened himself and took a step towards Hiro, causing the latter to take a step backwards.

"Tadashi…" Hiro shook his head. "Stop…"

But Kitsune took another step forwards and Hiro took another step backwards. This pattern continued until the adolescent, gripping the knife with its point that touched the young man's chest, was teetering at the building's edge.

"Do it." Kitsune ordered. "Stab me right now if you want your brother back so badly. Or you could even use your microbots to sweep me off this very building. I won't stop you either way."

Hiro shook his head fiercely with shaking hands. He knew that Kitsune was toying with him; but that very fact was jarring his logical-thinking process.

"I guess you don't want your brother back that badly then."

* * *

The tide of the battle had obviously turned. The mask-wearing woman had gained the upper-hand. She hadn't gained the upper-hand because she was better than Gogo; no, that wasn't the case at all. She simply had more stamina and physical strength than her. Those two attributes no doubt originated from the physically-enhancing serum that was pumping through her veins.

Coming to a stand from where the mask-wearing woman had thrown her on the floor, Gogo rolled the small capsule Honey Lemon had given her in her palms. She had only one of her disks left to throw, her other disk having fallen in the hands of her assailant.

"It's just a prototype, so use it in emergencies only!"

Grimacing, Gogo pocketed the capsule. She didn't need it to defeat this woman. The knowledge of physics and velocity were on her side.

"You're still alive?" Came the woman's biting remark. "I'm surprised." She paused. "You should leave now, or I might actually kill you."

But it was evident that Gogo was not even listening.

"If we're talking about momentum and impulse," she muttered under her breath as she detatched her last disk from her arm and held it in hand; she activated its automatic spinning features, "speed and mass are everything, but so are force and time—

She charged forward faster than the blink of an eye; and in a second, she was in front of the woman.

"—and since the two have an inverse relationship—"

In less than a second — less than a millisecond even, Gogo forcefully slammed the rotating disk into the woman's chest and recoiled it back. And she smirked.

"— then the less time there is, the more force there is."

The masked woman went flying backwards like a ragdoll, limply and with strings cut. Her back stacked against — no, it went straight through the wall behind her. The creamy plaster caved in around her; and the whole building was subjugated with another round of tremors. As the dust from the debris cleared revealing the evidently unconscious woman strewn across the rubble, Gogo found herself grimacing:

"Maybe I over did it…"

Little did she know that the trembling that she caused signaled the end of clashing throughout the entire building.

* * *

"Before we go at this," the rabbit-mask-wearing man drew out slowly as he rubbed the back of his head, "don't you think we should at least get to know each other's name first — just in case one of us dies?"

Wasabi physically flinched at the final word but nodded his head steadily.

"Great." The man grinned beneath his mask. "My friends around here call me Usagi."

"If we're going with nicknames," Wasabi replied, attempting to hide the shakes in his voice, "then my friends call me Wasabi."

"Usagi and Wasabi." The man muttered thoughtfully, reaching for something that hung at his belt. "Look at that. Our nicknames rhyme."

"I'm not really much of a fan of fighting," Wasabi admitted with a sigh.

His statement was met with a good-natured laugh.

"Well," the man known as Usagi grinned lightly, "I'm not either, which is rather unfortunate, because it looks like we're enemies."

Before they could take up arms, however, the entire building trembled around them and caused them to stumble to the floor.

* * *

The boy's hands were trembling. No, his entire body was trembling. His eyes were as wide as saucers and they appeared to be in search of something on Kitsune's face. What was he searching for? Kitsune sure didn't know. What he did know was that this entire situation was pleasing to him. He enjoyed how the scenery before him was in his control, how he could direct its outcome with a flick of the wrist.

Kitsune glanced down at the tip of the blade that was dancing back and forth at the center of his chest and found that his lips were curling upwards.

"You're too weak to do it aren't you."

"No…" Hiro shook his head, his eyes hardening. "I—

Suddenly, as if it were a mere whiplash of the boy's own trembling, the building shuddered intensely. Kitsune stumbled backwards but somehow managed to maintain his balance. Hiro stumbled backwards as well; but instead of falling to the ground, he found himself plunging into open air.

…

Kitsune wasn't quite sure what had happened. He was vaguely aware of the fact that the building had been quaking seconds earlier; and he was also vaguely aware of the fact that the adolescent that had been standing before him had been shaken right off of the building's edge. In other words, the boy had been good as dead.

So —

— why was he now dangling halfway off of the rooftop edge?

All around him rain came down in thick sheets. Their dewy drops were intermingled with small slabs of black sleekness — microbots — that cascaded downwards with them. Together they clattered noiselessly onto the the asphalt street below them. Wait — 'them'?

Ah. That was right. Hanging by an arm below Kitsune was Hiro himself. The former briefly wondered why the latter had not become a mere splatter on the asphalt ground below and also wondered how he had managed to become suspended in the air below him; then, Kitsune realized that he himself was the cause of the strangeness. The man found that he was gripping the boy's hand tightly. Kitsune started slightly as he realized this.

Let him go. Let him fall, damnit—

He repeated that mantra over and over in his head; but, just as his hand would not obey him when he ordered it to plunge the blade in the adolescent's throat, his hand would not comply when orderd it to release the adolescent's hand. The very fact made his blood boil; but as he glared down at the adolescent dangling below him and stared into the boy's wide, strangely content, and cool eyes, however, he found all of his anger dissipate like smoke in the air. All he was left with was complete exhaustion.

Grunting, Kitsune swung the boy over the edge of the roof and guided him up onto the concrete flooring. He then pulled himself over the edge and sat there, legs sprawled out, until he could catch his breath. He glared at the railings on the other side of the roof, before he side-glanced at the adolescent who was sitting on all fours beside him. The boy was searching his face again. Seeing this, Kitsune pulled his legs in defensively around him, hung his head, and rubbed his eyes.

"Unbelievable." He sighed to himself. "I can't believe I actually saved you."

"I could have technically saved myself using my microbots," Hiro said pointedly with slightly twitching lips. "But y'know: details." His remark earned him a glare.

"Alright." Kitsune replied dryly. "I'll let you fall next time. No big deal."

Hiro stared at him again. He inched forward and sat on his knees. His fingertips drifted towards Kitsune's hand.

"Tadashi…"

"Congratulations, Hiro." Kitsune interrupted him. "You're probably the one person that I can't kill."

Hiro shook his head with narrowed eyes: "Kill—

He was cut off short as the steel doors leading to the roof swung open; and three figures — one of them was lugging and supporting the other two who were evidently unconscious — emerged from the doorway.

"Honey Lemon!" Hiro identified with widened eyes, eyes that widened even more as they registered the two figures hanging at her sides. "You got Callaghan and Krei!"

From beside him, Kitsune clicked his tongue in annoyance and came to a stand. Before he could make a move towards her, however, Baymax (who had been continuously swinging the entangled Hebi around and around in the air until that moment) landed on the rooftop with the entangled girl squirming in his arms. Before he could even react to _this_ strange scene, another figure emerged from the doorway only to be tackled to the floor by another figure who had also emerged from the doorway.

"Wasabi!" Honey Lemon identified the tackled man.

Unfortunately, this reunion was interrupted by another strange occurrence. Three amicably conversing figures ascended the stairwell and came to a stop at the crowded doorway.

"Dude," the reptilic-suited one grinned, "all of you should meet Taka here and Hitsuji too. They're chill as—

He was cut off as a bodily mass was thrown onto his body. He collapsed beneath the weight with a groan. Said deadweight was wearing a wolf-mask. Standing behind his prostrate form was a yellow-suited figure who was dusting her hands off.

"Gogo!"

Once again, however, the reunion was interrupted as another figure came onto the rooftop. This figure, unlike the others, was relatively free of battle wounds and had a cat-like mask hanging at the base of her neck.

"Wow, Kit," the figure grinned a cheshire cat grin, "quite the cat-ch you've got here."

"... Unbelievable."

* * *

(*) a small, "side-insert" sword; the small sword that usually usually accompanies a katana

* * *

Next Chapter: Kūdō ( 虚空)

∟"Void"

_"'You want us to what — to work together? With those losers?! You can't be serious!'_

_…_

_'I don't trust that Taka guy.'_

_'Well, look at that, Speedy Cat. We have something in common.'_

_…_

_Every inch of Kitsune's body was shaking. It looked as if he was using every ounce of his will just to stay upright. Hiro supported him with equally shaking hands and searched his face with growing terror._

_'Tadashi?! Tadashi, what's wrong?'_

_And then the man's head snapped backwards like a broken flower._

_…_

_The floor crumbled away beneath their feet and the ceiling caved in above their heads. It didn't take long for Hiro to realized that they were trapped._

_…_

_Hiro tapped a key on the panel and watched as the screen above it flickered to life. A conglomeration of divided videos played out on the screen; and Hiro skimmed them with mild interested. This interest skyrocketed and morphed into disbelief as his gaze fell on a video that was playing at the very corner of the screen._

_There his white-clad brother stood smiling brightly at a young girl who swayed beside him._

_Hiro's eyes flickered to the top of the screen where a slew of words illuminated in green flickered. They read as follows:_

_'Record Log: Trial 5b'"_

* * *

**A/N:** Wow, this chapter was kind of… difficult to write at times. I enjoyed writing the Tadashi and Hiro interaction scenes though! This chapter is slightly shorter than the other ones though this time around. Also, I've been thinking of changing the name of this story to something... I don't know.. cooler and sleeker, I guess? Any suggestions?

Bluh, midterms next week. Wish me luck!

Once again, thanks to all who read, followed, and favorited!

A big thanks goes out to —

Silverblueroses: Yep! Tyki Mikk, ftw! (It's so sad that the manga hasn't been updated in like two years) It's also my tumblr username too. XD. Many thanks!

GalacticTrooper954: Thank you! ;3 That means a lot!

bukulay: Well, Tadashi's definitely not going to die in this ficlet, but I don't want to say anything else or I'll just spoil it.

shards of sonata: Aw, thank you! Glad that it entertained you /nodnod.

DarkenedRainbowz: Aw, shucks. You're making me blush.

teengens: Yup, yup. Thanks for your input and the compliments! I hope you enjoyed the confrontation!

Darkx143: Aw, crap. You're making me blush again. Thank you much!

Charmfeather: Thanks! And I completely agree — they weren't delved into that much in the movies.

Fujhi poudes-Escapa non: I'm glad my updates make you happy! And to clear things up: Usagi told Tadashi that it was Tako who was questioning them, and it was Tako who told on Kitsune. Sorry for the confusion! Many thanks for the compliments! And to be honest, I'm a sadist, so expect a lot of angst in the next few chapters! You have a good day too!

anomonist: Thanks c;!

Producciones Escudo: Holy crap, you're making me blush like crazy! Thank you very much!

Random Reader 17: Everything shall be explained in chapter twelve or thirteen most likely! c; And yup, a temporary alliance is in store.

reclused-cat: Ack. You're making me blush too. Thank you for your compliments!

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Many thanks!

kid: c; Thanks! Here's the fight chapter between the brothers for you!

Guest: Dry humor, ftw xD. And alright!

avatar4ever: Thank you very much! Your compliments mean a lot — really, thanks! ;3

hy0rinlove: I'm sorry for making you lose sleep v-v, but I also thank you for the compliments! And… the Kitsune smoking thing is actually a plot point for later chapters. Tadashi won't smoke — that's for sure.

D2123: Aw, crap, your reviews make me blush the most. Thank you very much! I might be able to update twice next week — maybe.

Guest: Hm. Hmm. /coughs loudly. 'Course I knew that… (Well, the more you know… xD)

Cresscent: Thank you very much! I hope my fic continues to engage you!

— for reviewing!


	11. Void ( I )

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Eleventh Encounter: _Kūdō ( 虚空), Ichii

∟"Void ( I )"

* * *

The atmosphere on the rooftop was heavy despite the fact that the sky had cleared. Whether this was caused by the typical humid air that lingered after fall showers or by the auras of tenseness and hostility emanating from the rooftop's occupants could not be determined. The scenery playing out on the roof was too chaotic to reach any sort of relative conclusion.

Wasabi was still pinned down under the weight of Usagi. Beside him, Fred had fallen beneath the unconscious body of Ookami and was struggling to free himself as well. Honey Lemon was too busy attempting not to be crushed beneath the two deadweights — Krei and Callaghan — that she was supporting to help. And Hebi, who was entangled in her own web by Baymax, was furiously squirming in place and spouting out biting curse words.

Only a handful of observers were untouched by this chaos, those observers being Hiro, Kitsune, Neko, Taka, Hitsuji, and Gogo. They stared at the chaos unfolding before them with a wide range of expressions: disbelief, anger, indifference, worry, confusion.

"This is pathetic." Kitsune deadpanned with sharp eyes that drifted towards the unconscious forms of Krei and Callaghan. He took a step forward in their direction, but paused as he registered the fact that Gogo — or as he had dubbed her "the malcontent" — had stepped in between him and the two men. It took him a while to realize that she was not so much as protecting the men as protecting the woman who supported them.

The two women stared at him with hesitant fierceness and hesitant hopefulness. They were searching his face for something just as Hiro had.

It vexed the man — the way they looked at him. The familiarity in their gazes irked him. Staring back at them, he subconsciously fingered the reddened scar — the one that the malcontent had given him — above his right eye.

"Oh, damn." Taka spoke suddenly as he studied the body that was strewn across Fred's prostrate form. "Ookami looks like she's out cold."

"Nice observation, Taka-baka." Neko complimented him coyly as she leaned against the doorframe. "And while we're statin' the obvious, Hebi looks like she's all wrapped up in a ball of yarn."

"Get me out of this crap!" Hebi screeched on cue; she flung here body this way and that in an attempt to tug the end of the wire that was wrapped around her out of Baymax's hands.

_The serum must be wearing off_, Honey Lemon realized as she observed her.

"Your call, Kit." Neko grinned lightly and toyingly "Do you wanna beat these dolls up and sack 'em or what?"

"'Beat us up'?" Gogo scoffed, as she narrowed her eyes. "I'd like to see you try. Better not underestimate us unless you wanna end up like wolf-woman over here." She paused and scanned Kitsune with a disapproving look, "And you, Hamada boy, you're coming with us."

Neko started in surprise at the address, while Hebi bit her lip and glowered.

"Don't speak familiarly with me," he muttered, fingering his scar again, "especially when you've earned a reason for me to dislike you."' He side-glanced at his wakizashi that glinted temptingly on the ground several feet away from him. Would he be able to drive it through her? Or would he be stopped by an unseen force again?

"Geeze, don't be so uptight, Tadashi." Came a nonchalant remark from behind. "You're never going to get a girlfriend if you keep that up."

Neko narrowed her eyes at the familiar address, while Hebi continued to glower and bite her lip.

"My previous comment goes for you too, kid." Came the biting reply.

The dauntingness of his comment did not seem to deter the addressed adolescent in the slightest. In fact, it seemed to encourage him. Bounding over to where Kitsune stood, Hiro made a grab for his hand and gave it a tug. Much to the surprise of several of the roof's occupants, the man did not flinch or jerk backwards; he simply turned his head and blinked down at the adolescent.

"I have a proposal for you." Hiro grinned cheekily. "Why don't we work together?"

Gogo's eyes widened; and she opened her mouth to protest but stopped as her gaze flickered from Hiro to Tadashi and back again. She resigned to biting her lip and crossing her arms. Fortunately — or rather fortunately — Hebi spoke for her:

"What? You want us to what — work together with those losers?! You can't be serious!"

"Third time's the charm." Hiro continued, ignoring her burst of outrage. "Besides, with one of your guys out," he gestured to Ookami, "I have feeling you're going to need our help — especially since you're taking on a big name like CASCO."

"What do you gain from helping us." Kitsune asked with narrowed eyes.

"Besides taking down an evil organization? That is our job, by the way: defeating evil — just in case you didn't know." Hiro replied in a matter-of-factly; he glanced slyly at Kitsune, causing the man to frown. "Well, what are you gonna do after you take down and expose CASCO?"

Kitsune froze.

"If you've got nothing," Hiro continued, "why not come home?"

"You'd be housing a criminal." Kitsune said pointedly.

"No," Hiro frowned at him, "I'd be housing family."

Keeping his mask of indifference steady on his face, Kitsune bit down on the inner part of his lip. He felt a pinch and tasted warm iron on his tongue. The pain brought him out of the imagined fantasy playing out in his mind and into reality.

"Y'know, I honestly don't see why not." Neko pipped suddenly. "We all have more or less of the same goals and havin' a couple more members on our cat-team doesn't sound too bad."

"You can't be serious!" Hebi scowled fiercely; her head snapped in Kitsune's direction and she searched his face in disbelief. "There's no way…"

"Seeing how she," Kitsune inclined his head in Gogo's direction, "apprehended Ookami so easily and how they appear to be better equipped than us, it would be stupid for me to decline."

Hebi shook her head furiously and pulled on her bindings in frustration, before she glanced upwards and saw that Hiro and Kitsune were still staring at each other. She then sank to the floor in defeat.

"Ookami is going to throw a fit when she wakes the up," was her only comment. "And I am not going to be the one who explains this stupid void of loserdom to her."

With that, the truce and alliance was sealed.

Usagi, who had been laying awkwardly on top of Wasabi until that moment, removed himself from the man's body and helped him to a stand.

"Sorry 'bout that." Usagi smiled good-naturedly as he patted Wasabi on the shoulder. "No hard feelings?"

"Er…" Wasabi rubbed his aching shoulders awkwardly. "Sure…?"

"This is so stupid." Hebi growled in irritation.

"Some help please…?" Came the muffled groan from beneath Ookami's sprawled out body.

Wasabi and Taka were at Fred's side at an instant. They helped gingerly lift the unconscious woman off of the groaning man's body. Taka then swept Ookami up into his arms bridal-style, while Wasabi helped Fred to his feet.

"Thanks, my wasabi and bird friends!" Fred grinned as he dusted himself off.

"Sure."

"Yeah, Fred. You good?"

"Totally energized, man!"

"Hitsuji," Taka addressed the young man who stood quietly by the doorway, "help me take this Big Bad Wolf Sleeping Beauty to her room."

The addressed young man nodded and accompanied Taka down the stairwell.

"Is she going to be okay?" Honey Lemon questioned worriedly as she watched the three disappear into the darkness.

Gogo shrugged offhandedly as she eased Callaghan over her shoulder so that Honey Lemon would not have to bear so much weight.

"Don't worry about her." Usagi waved her off. "She's built tough. If anything, you should be worried about us once she wakes up."

"This is so, so stupid." Hebi grumbled again.

Kitsune walked over to where his wakizashi lay and picked it up deftly. Holding it loosely in his fingertips, he strode over to where the larger group stood causing several of those in the group to tense. He ignored their adverse reactions and continued walking until he reached Hebi's side. He slipped the blade in between a gap in the rope and severed it with a grunt. It fell in loose pieces on the ground; Baymax still held tightly to the other end of the rope in apparent confusion.

"My hero!" Hebi cooed as she jumped up and wrapped her arms around the man's waist. She then added under her breath: "This is still so stupid."

Gogo and Wasabi watched her interaction with their amnesiac best friend with raised eyebrows.

"I'm not sure whether or not you realize this," Kitsune said pointedly, ignoring Hebi and gazing at Gogo and Honey Lemon then at Callaghan and Krei, "but we still need answers from them."

"Then let us do it, Tadashi." Honey Lemon replied in a steady tone.

Kitsune, gripping the hilt of his blade tightly in his hands, narrowed his eyes at her.

"No need for that!" Came a sing-song voice from the stairwell. "I've already gotten the answers required from them."

From behind Neko came a dark-haired man clad in black and holding an octopus-themed mask loosely in his hand. Neko started immediately and drew herself backwards from the man.

"And where have you been, Takoyaki?" She asked thickly, the amusement in her voice dying away in an instant.

"I've been out and about, Cat." He replied as he scanned the rooftop with an unreadable expression. "But I've heard enough to understand the situation."

"You said that you've finished questioning them." Kitsune pressed. "And?"

"While they didn't specifically put a name to our mystery man," the man known as Taka explained with a light voice, "they did say where we could get that information and other info bits regarding CASCO. A hotpot of information."

"Another detour is what your sayin'." Neko narrowed her eyes.

"The point is that you don't need Callaghan and Krei anymore, right?" Hiro interjected with furrowed eyebrows. "Then we can take them to the hospital so that they can get medical attention. They have people who are worried about them." The two men didn't look like they needed medical attention — save for the bandaged wound on Callaghan's leg, but Hiro was simply being cautious.

"We don't need them anymore." Kitsune agreed. "You can do with them as you like, so long as they don't create complications for us."

"You're being quite lenient today, Fox." Tako blinked.

"That's besides the point." Kitsune brushed him off as he crossed his arms. "Where are we going to get this information from."

"As you may know," Tako began with dramatic cadence decorating his words, "all information regarding CASCOs more underworldly dealings are held in such secret that some of the CEOs of CASCO aren't even aware of the matter themselves and all such data regarding it are only recorded in the facilities handing the underworldly dealings themselves—

"Jegus!" Hebi scowled. "No offense, but could you please just get to the point?"

"And all facilities are immediately buried under the ground after such dealings are dealt with." Tako continued, pretending as if he hadn't heard her complaint. "But, as it turns out, there is one facility that remains in tact and heavily guarded."

"Didn't you hear the doll?" Neko rolled her eyes. "She said to get to the point."

"I thought that I already made my point." Tako tilted his head. "The facility is one that you should be familiar with."

Neko started immediately; Hebi untangled herself from Kitsune's body; Usagi frowned and shook his head in confusion; while Kitsune uncrossed his arms and took a step forward.

"It's still there…?"

"Okay, dudes," Fred finally spoke, snapping the thin atmosphere in two, "all this ambience and dramatic stuff is going right over my head."

"The facility where Kitsune — er, Tadashi — Neko, Hebi, and I came from." Usagi explained.

"Trial 5b…?" Honey Lemon murmured under her breath with a delicate frown.

"Yeah." Usagi raised an eyebrow in surprise at her knowledge.

"We need to leave right now." Kitsune snapped.

"Woah," Fred shook his head, "this is escalating way too quickly." He gestured backwards towards the unconscious Krei and Callaghan, "What about them?"

"Here," Hiro stepped forward and nodded to Baymax who was gazing at Tadashi, "Baymax can take them—

"No." Kitsune interrupted him."We need him to get to the facility. He'll be more useful to us in the facility run than he'll be taking Callaghan and Krei to… the hospital."

"And why are you calling the shots?" Gogo asked pointedly. Her voice wasn't hostile for once while addressing the man; rather, there was a tone of uneasiness in her voice, like she was still deciding whether or not to be amicable or brutish to him. "Unless you've got a car or something locked away in a garage somewhere, we're going to have to use Baymax."

"I got a car parked out back." Neko interceded with a forward step; she dug into her kimono pocket, pulled out a ring of keys, and tossed it to Gogo. "Not too hesitant on sharing either."

Gogo caught the keys easily with her free hand. Dangling them above her head, she counted and studied them.

"Cat keychain." She noted, raising an eyebrow at the small cat-themed object chained to the ringlet. "I'm not surprised."

"This is so stupid." Hebi grumbled once more.

"Yup," Neko nodded with a grin, "it's just my style. By the way, this kitty cat is coming with you."

"What."

"Well, someone is goin' to have to help you load those old farts into the car."

"I can do it myself."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm helpin' you anyways. It is _my_ car afterall."

Gogo sent her a meaningful glare, before she jerked her head in Krei's direction. Complying to the silent request, Neko strode over to where Honey Lemon stood and eased Krei's unconscious form off of her shoulders. The second to latter smiled a quiet thanks, before she slipped away and joined Wasabi's side. She and the others watched as Neko and Gogo disappeared with Callaghan and Krei down the stairs. What followed their departure was a long and drawn out awkward silence in which all eyes fell on Kitsune's stationary form.

The young man appeared to have not noticed (?) their gazes and sheathed his wakizashi nonchalantly after spinning it in hand. It resonated with a noisy clack as it clicked back and forth in its holster.

"Dude," Fred finally spoke, "that was a sick knife trick."

Kitsune looked at the relaxed man up and down as if he was just now realizing the man's presence. When Fred offered him a smile, he turned with his lips in a hardened frown and nodded loosely at Wasabi.

"Are you the leader."

Wasabi started as he was addressed. Kitsune's voice was familiar and unfamiliar, formal and informal at the same time. Wasabi was having a difficult time dealing with his emotional state of mind because of this fact among other things.

"Er, no," Wasabi loosely shook his head as he pointed at himself, "I'm Wasabi." Realizing his mistake, he shook his head and waved his hands in embarrassment, "Er! Wait—"

He was cut off by Hebi's loud cackle. She was bent over in laughter with one hand holding her stomach and with the other gripping Kitsune's forearm.

"Are you seriously serious?" The girl laughed. "These nerds are supposed to work together with us?"

"Don't forget that those _nerds_," Kitsune growled as he jerked his arm away from Hebi's grasp, "managed to take down Ookami and managed to make _you_ look like a helpless puppy."

The girl opened her mouth defiantly, before she closed it and crossed her arms defeatedly. She then sent a meaningful yet ultimately misdirected glare in Hiro's direction which simply caused the latter to raise an eyebrow.

"If you're not the leader," Kitsune continued, ignoring the odd one-sided rivalry that was forming between the two adolescents, "then who is?"

Fred took this moment to flourish his hands dramatically and to step forward into the paling sunlight. He lifted his chin, flipped up his mask, and nodded:

"That would be—

Kitsune brushed past him and jerked his head in Honey Lemon's direction.

"You?"

Honey Lemon smiled hesitantly but brightly, causing Kitsune's set frown to deepen, and shook her head.

"We don't really have a leader, per say," she drew slowly as she brushed a stray strand of blonde hair out of her eyes.

Kitsune studied her carefully. Out of all them, her personality type was one of the most disconcerting to him. She was sweet but dangerous. Like a cup of coffee with five pounds of yet to be dissolved sugar in it. Coffee...

The warm scent of cocoa beans and whipped cream suddenly filled his head. He found himself thinking about the cafe he had visited several days back. Lucky Cat Cafe, was it?

"I'm the leader."

Kitsune started and turned at the voice.

"Hiro!" Came Honey Lemon's soft and strained warning.

"Er... Well, I call the shots sometimes." Hiro continued, looking half-confident and half-uncertain at the same time. Feeling the stares of those on the roof, he shifted and placed his hands on his hips.

_What_?

Fred suddenly stepped in between the two and slung an arm over the younger's shoulder protectively.

"Your little bro here is a leader-in-training." Fred explained with an easy smile. "My apprentice. Shi-fu Fred's disciple."

As Fred rambled on and as Hiro continuously nodded and smirked at the man's words, Kitsune felt something bubble inside of his chest. It was a multitude of somethings that boiled and boiled, until they eventually rose to and out of his throat.

"— Fredzilla's stude—

"You're _fourteen!_" Tadashi shouted in exasperation as he sent a meaningful glare at Hiro. "You can't even drive yet, but you want to be the leader of some vigilante group and possibly get you and everyone else horribly maimed?"

Hebi nearly tripped over her own two feet. Usagi frowned in both confusion and disbelief. Honey Lemon's blonde head perked up almost immediately, while Fred and Wasabi straightened themselves and took hesitant steps forward. Hiro, on the other hand, returned Tadashi's stare with widened and hopeful eyes. He then took a step forward, searching his brother's face, and whispered hesitantly:

"'Dashi?"

For a second there was _something _in the man's eyes. Recognition? Realization? Guilt? Whatever it was, it was gone the next second and replaced by pain. Reacting to this pain, Kitsune hung his head low and rubbed his eyes with a soft grunt. His head felt like it was being stabbed through temple to temple with a needle; his ears were ringing like someone had just boxed them; and his eyes blurred everything before him together in a singular blob.

Hebi and Usagi were about to reach out to him, but the other five beat them to it. They supported him at his sides and peered worriedly into his obscured face.

"Baymax..." Hiro murmured, but the robot was already on it:

"I am concerned, Tadashi. My diagnostics indicate that you are—

"Stop." Kitsune ordered as he straightened himself and pulled away from the others. With that he strode to the stairwell, pausing in the doorway. "I will kill anyone who bothers me in the next fifteen minutes."

He descended.

"Aaaand that means we're due to leave in fifteen minutes." Usagi explained with a half-smile.

Hiro stared at the man strangely, before he made for the doorway. For a moment, it's arch was in his sights; and the next moment, there was a facefull of gravel in his mouth. In other words, he had been royally tripped. Hebi stood above him smugly with crossed arms.

"Dude!" Wasabi exclaimed as he and the others helped the adolescent to his feet. "Not cool!"

Hebi stuck her tongue out at them — at Hiro in particular — and dashed down the stairwell. They stared after her in slight confusion and slight aversion.

"She's always like that." Usagi sighed with a smile from the side. "Don't let it get to you."

"Are you alright, Hiro?" Honey Lemon asked worriedly from beside him.

She stepped to the side as Baymax approached Hiro. The robot spouted out a line of diagnostics, sprayed an antibacterial ointment onto the adolescent's reddened knees, applied thick Hello Kitty themed band aids to the fizzing scars, and procured a plastic-wrapped, red lollipop which Hiro took graciously.

"Wow." Usagi gaped.

"Tadashi designed him." Wasabi nodded with a proud smile as he glanced regretfully at the stairs.

"I find that hard to believe…" Usagi replied with a faltering smile; he shook his head and waved their mixed expressions at his statement off. "Anyways, we're leaving in fifteen minutes apparently, so it'd be best if you got your bearings together."

"Fifteen minutes?" Wasabi frowned. "What about Gogo and the other lady? What if they don't get back before then?"

"Neko knows her way to the facility." Usagi waved him off again as he paced towards the stairs. "She'll bring your friend there with her probably…"

They watched as he disappeared down the stairwell as they had watched the others. His departure left only five of the former fourteen roof occupants left standing with an open sky above their heads. It was with his departure that they finally noticed how heavy the silence was.

Honey Lemon found herself gazing at Hiro who was twirling the still-wrapped lollipop between his fingertips. He stared at it long and hard before he ripped off the wrapping with his free hand and tossed it to the ground. (Wasabi muttered something about littering under breath and moved to pick up the stray plastic covering.) The redness of the sugary treat glinted in the dull sun. It was redness that soon found itself resting on the adolescent's tongue. It was bittersweet.

"Don't worry, little dude," Fred smiled lightly as he approached the adolescent and placed a hand on his shoulder, "after this whole evil organization thing is over with, we're bringing the big guy home."

"You've got to admit though…" Wasabi said in a low voice; he toyed with the plastic wrapper in his hands. "He's… different. Not that that's going to stop us, but still..."

"That shouldn't get us down!" Honey Lemon interjected lightly with an equal light smile. "He still remembers little bits and pieces! We can't give up!"

"Tadashi is not well." Baymax spoke, earning himself the attention of those on the roof. "He is suffering from withdrawal from the physically-enhancing serum at an unnatural rate. I worry not only for his physical well-being but for his mental well-being as well."

There was a pause of uneasy silence.

Hiro bit down on the lollipop, splintering it into pieces in his mouth. The crunching sound made those surrounding frown worriedly and exchange looks. He turned to them and surprised them by flashing a confident smile.

"Geeze. I don't get why you guys are getting so worked up for. Hamada brother rule number one: Hamadas don't give up on eachother."

* * *

_Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!_

It was a steady and monotonous sound. Steel grinding into wood and scrapping chips off here and there.

_Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!_

There was a rap at the door.

Kitsune slammed his wakizashi into the one inch dent in the wooden table that he had been making for the past several minutes. He rose from his seat and approached the door. It opened before he even reached for the doorknob.

Blinking, Kitsune found himself staring out into an empty hallway. At the sound of an awkward cough from below him, he glanced downwards and found himself staring at a pair of wide brown eyes.

"'Sup?" Hiro greeted him.

Kitsune blinked again and closed the door — rather, he attempted to. At the last second, Hiro had managed to wedge his foot in the doorway and had prevented it from closing.

The adolescent swallowed a yelp at the throbbing pain his foot and pushed the door back open with a half-smirk. He peered into the room curiously and judgingly and then moved to enter it. Kitsune didn't stop him, but he didn't look pleased with the intrusion either.

"What are you doing. I said that I would kill anyone who bothered me."

"Yeah, well seeing that you said that I was the only person that you couldn't kill, I assumed that I'd be a-okay bothering you."

— Hiro said the phrase with a smirk as he paced around the room. Said room was rather plain. A desk rested in its very corner with a… knife driven into it?

"You do realize that the friction generated from repeatedly jabbing your sword thing into your desk will dull out your sword thing, right?

"You do realize that I don't really care, right?" Kitsune retorted.

Hiro ignored his comment with a smile and continued to explore the room. The only other piece of furniture residing in the room besides the table was a small bed that rested along the opposite wall. Eyeing it indifferently, the adolescent strode over to it and hopped on it. It creaked with his added weight.

"Meh, your bed back home is more comfortable." Hiro said pointedly.

"'_Home'_ you say." Kitsune said with narrow eyes as he approached the adolescent; he bent down to eye-level and gazed at Hiro's face with apprehension and with a dash of cruel sadism; and he spoke in his strange monotone: "Kid, you need to understand that I'm not your brother. Not anymore at least. Your brother is dead."

Hiro froze, gripping the linen sheets that were draped over the bed in his palms. He stared into Kitsune's face and only saw Kitsune there.

"You need to stop clinging to ghosts. It's _pathetic_."

Hiro opened his mouth to retort—

"And it makes me sick to my stomach. Stop pestering me with your _stupid_ fantasies."

— but bit his lips and burned holes through the floorboards with his eyes. His heart was hammering in protest in his chest; and his ears were ringing painfully. His grip on the linen covering tightened so much that his knuckles became white. Suddenly—

— a gentle hand brushed against his knees.

Lifting his head, Hiro found himself gazing at furrowed eyebrows and a set frown. And possibly… a worried gaze? A gaze that was directed at his band-aided knees. A gaze that belonged to Kitsune (Tadashi?). The man brushed his thumb lightly across the adolescent's bandaged left knee as something flickered in his dark eyes. His frown deepened:

"Hiro, what happened…?"

The adolescent's heart-rate skyrocketed.

Here he was. This was Tadashi, wasn't it? A fragment of him at least? In fear of being proven wrong and possibly shattering the picturesque moment to pieces, Hiro remained silent and frozen.

"Hiro…"

The man's gaze flickered upwards towards the adolescent's face; and the latter's voice became hitched in his throat. The man's gaze was dazed and unfocused, but… It was soft.. Warm. Concerned. Caring.

"I…" Hiro swallowed. "I tripped and fell…"

The man's eyes narrowed in suspicion and his frown deepened.

"That Hebi girl tripped him."

The voice came from behind. To be precise, it came from the open doorway.

Perking his head up, Hiro saw that Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred were standing awkwardly by the door — they were evidently hesitant to enter. Tadashi turned his head and came to a stand. His expression was still one of stupor, like he was continuously drifting in and out of sleep; and for once, the aura radiating from him was not hostile. Noticing these differences, the three college students started in surprise and slowly entered the room. They approached him warily.

"Hey… dude… you don't look so hot."

His gaze slid over them like water. He narrowed his eyes in an attempt to focus on them, but he ultimately failed and simply made himself dizzier than he already was. Swaying at this dizziness, he held his throbbing head and found himself falling forward against his will. He was immediately caught, however, by a plethora of hands and was guided back into his bed. There, he sat bent over with his head buried in his hands next to a very concerned Hiro.

"Oh my god, Tadashi," Honey Lemon breathed quietly as she came to her knees, "are you okay?"

"Should we get Baymax in here?"

"What's wrong?"

"Dude…"

"I-I'm fine…" came the quiet and soft whisper that shocked those within the room. "Really…"

Wasabi and Honey Lemon exchanged looks and reached for Tadashi's shoulders. The man didn't flinch nor did he pull back. Their eyes widened incredulously at this feat.

"Ta—

There was a loud knock at the door which caused Tadashi to visibly cringe. Hiro moved and placed a hand on his older brother's back causing the latter to visibly relax. He then looked up at the doorway. The man who had been holding the octopus mask earlier stood in it and waved at them loosely; he then nodded at Kitsune.

"Hey, Fox, the fifteen minutes are up; and I just realized that you're probably out of the formula, so I decided to stop by and hand you some." The man drew out in a short breath; he entered the room and approached the group. In his hands were three vials filled with clear blue liquid.

"That's…" Honey Lemon's eyes widened then narrowed.

This man was bad news.

"Good thing I came here, Fox," the man continued, "because you certainly look like you need a dose or two."

Wasabi and Fred stepped in between the man and their bent over friend causing the man to raise an eyebrow and smile lightly. This smile widened slightly as Tadashi came to a stand, brushed past the two men, and took the vials out of the man's extended palm. He then left the room without another word.

"Where did you get those vials?" Hiro hissed through gritted teeth as he clenched his fists.

"You're just like Neko." The man sighed with a hurt expression. "Always so paranoid." He straightened himself and brushed a strand of his long black hair to the side. "I got them from a source; and because of that source, I'm able to help Fox and the others live long and comfortably." He paused, pursing his lips and tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Now, I don't know what your relations are with Fox, but you certainly would not want him and the others suffering a heart attack or something from the withdrawal, would you? Of course not — you're _heroes_ after all!"

"Man," Wasabi shook his head and muttered under his breath with a grim expression, "he's not right at all."

"That's hurtful." The man frowned. "We don't even know each other's names yet, but you're already judging me." He shrugged suddenly and waved them off as he turned to leave. "Oh well, get ready, unknowns. We're leaving soon."

* * *

The car sped forward in silence. Awkward silence. It was an awkward silence that was expected. After all, there were two unconscious men in the backseat of the vehicle and the two women sitting at the front of it were former enemies.

"So," the woman sitting in the shotgun of the car sighed as she examined her fingernails, "looks like you and your gang are acquaintances of Kit. I have to say that I'm quite surprised."

There was a popping sound followed by silence.

"Come on, doll," she pressed, lowering her hand, "I'm really not a fan of havin' one-sided conversations. Already have enough of them with Kit."

The driver mumbled something under her breath.

"Huh? What's that?"

"I said that his name is Tadashi." Gogo repeated with her eyes still glued to the road.

"Tadashi, huh?" Neko grinned thoughtfully; she tilted her head. "Cute. It kind of fits him."

"Well, yeah," Gogo scoffed, "it's his name."

There was a pause of silence.

"Aren't you goin' to ask how Kit, me, and the others got all tangled up in the same ball of yarn?"

"No," Gogo grimaced, gripping the steering wheel tightly, "I've already got the gist of it, but I have a feeling you're going to re-explain everything to me anyways and tell me a bunch of cat puns while you're at, so you might as well shoot."

Neko stared at her for a long moment, before something crawled up her throat and sprung from her mouth. It was a laugh, loud and musical. It shook her with such intensity that she had to hold her stomach in pain with one hand and wipe tears from her eyes with the other .Gogo side-glanced at her shaking form with a raised eyebrow and a peeved expression.

"Don't die on me now. I don't want to have three hospital bills to pay."

"Sorry," Neko choked out another laugh, "but you're just so feisty. You remind me of how my little sister was when we were both in high schoo—

The car jerked left and back as Gogo lost her grip on the steering wheel. Neko found herself smashed up against the car door and in a somewhat less than two comfortable position. Glancing at the side view mirror, she could see that Callaghan and Krei were far less fortunate than she. The force of the swerving car had sent them toppling over one another.

"Wait." Gogo side-glanced at her in suspicion as she pulled back onto the road. "You... _Remember_?"

"What?!" Neko squeaked, scrambling to clip her seat belt into place. "The only thing I remember right now is nearly dyin'. Good thing cats have nine lives..."

"I mean," Gogo pressed on calmly, completely ignoring her comment, "are you telling me that you remember what your life was like before CASCO got their hands on you?"

"'Course." Neko nodded with a half-smile. "Why would ya think I wouldn't?"

"Tadashi..." Gogo frowned. "You remember, so why doesn't he?"

There was another pause of silence followed by a sigh. The sound prompted Gogo to peek at the woman. Said woman was wearing a tired and contempt expression.

"He's not the only one. Hebi and Hitsuji don't remember either. Taka remembers snapshots here and there. Ookami and Usagi are like me though. They remember everything."

Gogo remained quiet and listening.

"I don't blame the others for forgetting though, y'know?" Neko continued. "Having a near death experience and being dragged through Death's door and forced back is about as traumatic as it gets. I wanted to forget too, but I guess this thinkpan of mine just doesn't work that way. I don't know what it was for Kit, but for me? Let's just say I have a phobia of trains now."

Gogo's eyes widened as realization dawned her. Her grip on the steering tightened so much that her knuckles whitened like snow.

"You mean that..." She seethed in barely a whisper. "You're telling me that CASCO..."

"They have a special branch that handles a bunch of morgues and a unit that does things with post-accident recovery." Neko nodded, examining her nails again. "No cat would search for littermates they think are dead, right?" She leaned her head against the window, before she continued: "There was probably some generous donation given to retrieving Tadashi's 'body' and supporting his funeral, right?"

"Those _bastards_..."

"Woah, doll," Neko leaned forward and gazed warily at Gogo's vice-like grip on the steering wheel, "don't go breakin' my car now."

Her reply came in the form of the car picking up speed. It was now going sixty miles-per-hour on a fifty mile-per-hour lane. Neko silently wept internal tears and prayed that the worst they would get was a speeding ticket.

"Wait..."

The car suddenly declined in speed.

"If you and some of the others remember your lives before this," Gogo frowned in curiosity, "why don't you go back to your families or whatever then?"

Another pause of silence.

"I honestly don't think I could face my ma' and sister after all of the things that I did in the facility," came the answer in the form of a soft laugh.

Gogo turned curiously to study the woman and found that Neko was gazing at the scenery playing out behind the car window. Her transparent reflection in the window had a bitter look in her eyes.

"Now I can't speak for Hebi, Taka, Tako, or Hitsuji — but the rest of us? Well, we're just a bunch of self-loathing animals."

The phrase was spat out with scorn and distaste.

A twang of empathy rung in Gogo's chest.

They drove the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

**A/N**: Well, similar to how the Paradise chapters played out, this chapter turned out to be way too long, so I decided to split it into two. I'll be able to fit more details and scenes in this way. No worries though! I'll be posting the second half of the chapter somewhere between tomorrow and Monday.

(Side-note: Goddamnit, Tadashi. Stop being so tsundere)

Also an opinion question… The backstory part of the fic — revealing how Tadashi became Kitsune — is going to happen for sure in chapter thirteen. Would you like me to just tell Tadashi's pov/background thing or would you like me include what the other characters experienced during that time period too?

[Also, since I feel guilty about splitting this chapter into two parts instead of leaving it as one, I'll give you guys some spoilers - as in, the titles of the next few chapters:

Chapter 12: Void ( II )

Chapter 13: White Memory

Chapter 14: Psychosis

Chapter 15: Oblivion (?)

Chapter 16: Reboot (?)]

So... Looks like this fic is going to be _at least_ 20 chapters long!

Anyways, exams are over! Huzzuh!

Thank you much to all who read, followed, and favorited this fic!

And a big thanks goes out to —

Glee Clue Rock 1251 - Thanks! c;

skydancerfyremagyk - Ack! Don't get depressed! Here's a chapter for you!

BrokenWings2602 - I'm familiar with CLAMP, but I haven't actually read/watched any of their series — mostly because their series all seem so sad. I have dabbled a little bit in xxxHolic though!

Sabeloid: I hope your midterms went well, friend!

Silverblueroses: To be honest, I become an emotionless wreck whenever I write the brotherly moments xD. (I saw that info on tumblr! I can't wait until she updates. /single tear. It's been so long that I've practically forgotten everything that's happened.)

TadashiFan: Many thanks!

GalacticTrooper954: That was a beautiful description xD! I'm still deciding on whether or not I should make this end happily or tragically… Btw, I followed your story! I'm going to read and review it once I get the chance. It looks really interesting so far!

Random Reader 17: /heavy breathing. Oh my god. FMA:B is like favorite series ever. I've like watched it over three times already. Which OST were you listening to? (Many thanks for the compliments!)

Ember Neutron: Yeah… v-v. But he'll get better.

Hoosteen: Here's an update for you!

Guest (1): Thanks! And I'll sneak some sprinkles of the pairing in for you!

Guest (2): Gracias! I'm glad that you enjoyed those scenes c;

Avatar4ever: It's cool. Oh wow, you must be prophetic or something then! I'm sorry that I couldn't update the day after I posted the previous chapter. v.v. I was busy cramming for my exams… I'll post the next chapter soon though!

kid: Aye, sir!

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Thank you! ;D. And aw, don't cry… /offers you a Baymax and a box of tissues?

Guest (3): Alright! I'll try to sprinkle some of that in too!

Producciones Escudo: T-Thanks! o u o. (I'm glad you enjoyed the references.)

jmfan2244: Ah, okay! Many thanks!

D2123: Muchos gracias! o/u/o

freebird4: Aw, thanks! That really means a lot! ;D (I like your profile pic btw)

FanGirlJen: Thanks, friend! (Exams are death. I don't hate exams themselves, but I hate cramming for them, y'know?)

Fujhi poudes-Escapa non: Yeah, Neko and Tako are very… discreet. And I guess Hitsuji and Near do have similar personalities (I haven't watched Death Note in forever though, so I can't say for sure.) Poor Hiro, indeed. Kitsune won't recover his memories for a while-ish, that's for sure. And many thanks!

SeeSea19: Sure thing! Here you are!

Ethian V: I'm glad you enjoyed that XDD.

— for your lovely reviews!

(And holy crap — 171 reviews?! /faints)


	12. Void ( II )

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Twelfth Encounter_: Kūdō ( 虚空 ), Nii

∟"Void ( II )"

* * *

It was smaller than what Hiro had expected. A tiny speck of white lost in a long strip of evergreen forests. Then again, they were several hundred feet above the building, so his perception was most likely just distorted. Perhaps it looked bigger from up close.

Hiro was probably the only one who noticed the strange distortion, however. Kitsune, who sat beside him, was too green to notice; Honey Lemon was too distracted with trying to coax Kitsune from afar; and Hebi was too busy glaring in Hiro's direction to even care. Baymax was too preoccupied with holding a squirming Hitsuji, a whooping Fred, and a frantic Wasabi in his arms to even acknowledge the strangeness. Usagi, Tako, and Taka, on the other hand, were occupied with clinging to Baymax's legs for dear life — too occupied to be even aware of the fact that they were drawing nearer to their destination.

Hiro supposed that he could have used his microbots to transport them from the base to the facility, but doing such a thing would not have been in the least bit discreet. And discreetness was key in this mission.

"Baymax, scan the area for the number of life signatures." Hiro called out to his health-care companion.

"My scanners indicate that there are four human males within the vicinity — one of whom has worryingly high levels of cholesterol."

"Four?" Hiro narrowed his eyes. "That can't be right… Where are they?"

"They are at the very center of the facility." Baymax answered him.

"Four?" Hebi grinned, cracking her knuckles. "Sweet and simple!"

"No," Hiro shook his head, "this isn't right…" He glanced back at Tako who was laying flat on his stomach with his arms wrapped around Baymax's leg. "You said that this place was going to be heavily guarde—

"It doesn't matter." Kitsune interrupted him. "Just tell your robot to get us down from here."

"But—

"Now." He hissed, reaching over and gripping Hiro's wrists tightly.

"Jesus! Fine! "

Thus, Baymax descended; and they came to land several yards away from the building. Once they landed, everyone scrambled to detach themselves from Baymax's being. Hiro was the first one to touch the grassy earth; and he ran forward so that he could get a better look at the white building.

It was indeed larger up close than it had been far away. It was more wide than it was tall and it stretched all the way from one end of the clearing to the other — the clearing (or so Hiro approximated) was circular and appeared to have a radius of about half a mile. There were no windows to the building; and the only way to enter it appeared to be through the double steel doors at the structure's deemed front. Other than that, there was nothing spectacularly significant about the building.

But Hiro still narrowed his eyes suspiciously at it. This was the place that turned his big brother into a fox demon after all.

He heard the crunching of dead leaves behind him; and he turned his head. Kitsune (who at some point had re-equipped his mask as did the other members of his group), Wasabi, Fred, and Honey Lemon stood behind him.

"It really still is here…" The fox-masked man muttered under his breath.

"Damn." Hebi scowled, coming up from behind him. "It looks just as trashy as we left it."

"Really?" Usagi raised an eyebrow from beneath his mask. "It looks like they cleaned up to me. No more blood and guts strewn everywhere."

Hiro wasn't sure whether or not the man had been joking.

"Son," Taka whistled, lifting up his mask so that he could better see the building, "this looks like some wicked, messed-up horror movie plot food right here. It's like one of the creepy a.f. buildings that the main characters in the movie enter and are like, 'Duuude, let's go into this haunted building and get brutally murdered cause why no—"

"So your facility was different?" Usagi questioned.

"Nah. I'm just sayin' is all. "

"Hm," Tako injected himself into the conversation with a slight tilt of his head, "we should really go in, shouldn't we?"

"But what about the four guards?" Wasabi asked with a concerned expression.

"There's only four." Tako tilted his head again and raised a finger. "You're called the Big Hero Six for a reason, no? Plus, you have us to back you up."

"I ain't nobody's backup!" Hebi growled as she strode towards the building; before anyone could stop her, she reached the double doors of the building and kicked them open. "Listen up, you jerkwads," she shouted into what lay beyond the doors, "we're going to maim you and kill you now, so you better perk your damn heads up!"

"What the…" Hiro shook his head in disbelief.

Kitsune was at her side in an instant and was shortly followed by the rest of the group. She looked up at him expectantly but all she received was a frightening look. It was a look that could not even be called a glare because it was so dark and chilling. It was a look that caused her to subconsciously shake in her skin and nearly made her knees buckle then and there.

"I despise complications, remember?"

Hebi swallowed; and her face flushed red. Clenching and unclenching her sweating hands, the girl stared at the ground.

"Wait, Ta—Kitsune," Honey Lemon frowned as she took a step forward, "she's just a kid…"

The man didn't acknowledge that he had heard her and continued:

"Are you a complication?"

Hebi shook her head.

"Good." He deadpanned. He lifted his head and peered into the darkness of the building; his body visibly tensed. He turned back and nodded at Hiro, "Have your robot track their whereabouts."

Hiro stared warily at Kitsune for a moment, before he grudgingly complied. Baymax waddled forward and entered the building out of Hiro and Kitsune's request.

"The four men are this way."

The others followed him in.

* * *

San Fransokyo General Hospital had a large parking lot. A gigantic one even. So why the hell couldn't Gogo find a place to park? Everytime she attempted to pull into one of the very few open spaces that dotted the lot another car would swerve in and take the spot before she could reach it. She supposed that she could break the speed limit and beat one of the cars to it, but it was way too crowded to do such a thing without crashing the car.

"Geeze," Neko yawned from beside her, "just park on the grass or sidewalk or somethin'."

"Oh yeah," Gogo rolled her eyes, "Just let me have the car magically sprout wings so that I can fly right over the ambulances that are parked along the damn sidewalks."

"Touchy." Neko grinned. She perked her head up and peered into the rear view mirror; what she saw captured in its reflection caused her grin to brighten. "Hey… pull out back for me, would ya?"

"Why?" Gogo narrowed her eyes at her.

"Reasons, Speedy Cat."

Gogo slammed on the breaks; and Neko was rattled back and forth between her stuck seat belt and her chair.

"Jesus!" Neko shouted, staring at Gogo's dark expression in stupor. "I said that cats have nine lives, but two of mine are already thrown out of the window 'cause of you! What do ya think you're doin'?"

"Why?" Gogo repeated, resting her elbow on the steering wheel; she raised an eyebrow. "We're not going anywhere till you tell me why you want me to go out back and why you decided to come with me in the first place."

Cars honked angrily from behind them.

"What?" Neko shook her head. "Doll, look. I don't know what you're even talkin' about! I came 'cause I wanted to have some quality bonding time with you."

"Alright," Gogo nodded at her. She crossed her arms. "We'll just sit here then."

The honking horns became a cacophonic symphony.

"Speedy cat, come on!" Neko pressed, her ever-present smile faltering slightly. "Don't you trust your littermate?"

"One, I'm not your littermate." Gogo replied offhandedly. "Two, no I don't."

Neko glowered at her; she glowered back.

"Agh! Fine!" Neko threw her hands up in defeat. "Geeze, I thought that I was the only one who got under people's skins…"

"So," Gogo popped the bubble in her mouth, "why?"

"What do you think of Tako?" Neko raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms and allowed another sly smile to spread across her face. "The creepy octopus-mask guy?"

Gogo frowned, trying to match the name with all of the faces she had come across that day. After a second or so of doing this, she found a face that fit it. Ebony hair, ivory skin, coy eyes. Perfect match for such an unsettling name.

"I don't trust him."

"Well," Neko tilted her head, "look at that, Speedy Cat. We have something in common."

Gogo stared at her in confusion; and then she recalled that it had been Tako who had given them the information regarding the facility. Her face contorted at this realization.

"Tadashi, Usagi, Hebi, and I all came from the same facility." Neko explained, inclining her red head. "Hitsuji, Ookami, and Taka-baka came from a different facility, but were a part of the same trial. Their trial — trial 6a —happened a month or so after ours." She paused, tapping her lower lip with her index finger and continued with lowered eyes: "Tako, on the other hand… He doesn't have any littermates that I know of; and he came from a trial that came _before_ ours. Trial 3a."

Gogo listened intently, thrumming her fingers along the steering wheel and ignoring the angry honks from behind.

"He's the dog that helped sparked this entire revenge shabang. Plus," Neko continued as she studied her hands, "he so happens to be our supplier of the Doubutsu formula." She stretched and rolled her head from side to side. "Anyways, I just wanna clarify things with Mister and Mister Smith back there. Ask 'em if they told Tako anything els—

Gogo whipped her head to the front, grappled the steering wheel, and slammed down on the gas pedal. The surroundings outside became a blur of white, green, and blue. When the surroundings became discernable again several seconds later, Neko found that the car was now parked — as Gogo had promised — at the very back of the hospital.

Neko flashed a grin at the sudden change in scenery and clicked open the car door. She hopped out of the vehicle with an odd flounce in her gait. Gogo followed suit — although she had more of a cool air about her — and walked over to the other side of the car. She opened the back seat door and peered down at the two stirring bodies with Neko.

"'Ey, wakey wakey, ya' old farts." Neko grinned as she reached down and tapped the cheek of the nearest stirring person who just so happened to be Allistair Krei.

The man started, shouted bloody murder, and jumped backwards - and just so happened to collide right into Callaghan who was groaning softly behind him. This caused Callaghan's head to smash up against the opposite car window; and the man retaliated by stomping on Krei's foot. Callaghan would have probably resorted to punching Krei if it were not for the fact that his hands (as well as Krei's) were bound by thick rope.

"Wow." Gogo deadpanned. "Real mature."

Callaghan and Krei perked their heads up and turned at the sound. Recognition flickered in their eyes immediately.

"Gogo!" Callaghan exclaimed.

"Callaghan." Gogo acknowledged with a curt nod.

"Thank god!" Krei shouted. "Are you here to save us…" He trailed off as he registered the woman who stood beside her. "Wait… She isn't with those kabuki-masked people, is she?!"

"Indeed, I am." Neko grinned with a slight bow.

"Why are you with her?" Callaghan shook his head as he searched Gogo's face. "Do you even know what you're getting into?"

"You obviously do." Gogo answered him darkly. "And you know exactly what Tadashi has to do with it too."

Callaghan opened his mouth to retort, but then closed it and lowered his eyes.

"It's your fault that he's the way he is now." Gogo seethed through gritted teeth.

"I won't argue with you on that one…" Callaghan agreed with a grimace

"But!" Neko pushed herself forward and came nose-to-nose with Alistair. "That's not the point here."

Alistair blanched and pulled backwards.

"I have a question regarding what you told my Tako friend." Neko continued with a sly smile. "That is — what exactly _did_ you tell him? Besides the facility stuff, I mean."

"The 'facility stuff'?" Alistair repeated with a raised eyebrow. "I don't even know what you're talking about! We value our lives, so we didn't tell that guy _anything_!"

Neko and Gogo simultaneously paled.

"...What?"

* * *

The first thing that greeted them when they entered the building was a long hallway that appeared to stretch out forever. They walked along it in silence. Hiro noted that the deeper that they went into the building, the more tensed Usagi, Hebi, and Kitsune became. He considered for a moment uplifting the atmosphere by starting up a conversation, but he couldn't think of anything to talk about. He himself was anxious beyond belief. Fearful even. He found himself continually glancing up at Kitsune's face — rather, his mask.

After this and after they apprehended the man who started this all, would it all be over? Would Tadashi shed Kitsune and come home? Of course he would! Hiro would drag him back if he had to.

"Duuude," Fred exclaimed suddenly as he smacked himself in the head, "I just realized why I keep getting this weird sense of deja vu!"

Honey Lemon and Hiro exchanged a glance, before the latter raised an eyebrow.

"And why is that?"

Clearing his throat, Fred straightened himself and belted out in a loud, sing-song voice: "Fred's angels! Duhn, na, na—

"Once again," Wasabi spoke up with a faint smile playing on his lips, "I will laser hand you in the face if you don't quit it."

There was a soft chuckle; but before anyone could identify where it had emanated from, they found themselves led into an open and empty white room. The only significant thing about the room were the large vents that lined the corners and the gigantic conglomeration of pipelines that formed the high ceiling. Baymax stopped at the center of this room, and a circle of frowning figures — save for Tako who lingered by the doorway and Hitsuji who saw him linger and decided to hang back as well — surrounded him.

"What's up, Baymax?" Hiro frowned.

"My scanners indicate that the four life signatures that I formally identified are residing in this room." Baymax explained matter-of-factly.

"... What."

Kitsune reached for the katana that was strapped to his back, while everyone in the room tensed.

"Uh," Fred blinked, "I don't see anyone."

"Well, I do." Taka deadpanned, looking up at the ceiling.

Above them and hanging on several of the protruding pipelines were four rough-looking men. As soon as these men realized that they had been spotted, they drop down from their perches while swinging crowbars and chain links above their heads.

"Baymax!" Hiro shouted.

The robot complied to his request and smacked one of the oncoming men out of the air. Said man hit the other wall with a thud. Hiro used his microbots to form a fist and punched another man out of the air. The third man who chose Hebi as his target found himself coiled in a piece of metal wire and literally flung out of the room. The fourth unfortunate man aimed for Kitsune. He was swiftly grabbed out of the air by the latter and thrown to the ground. Before the man could even grunt in pain, he found himself eye-to-eye with the tip of a katana.

"That was..." Wasabi gaped as he lowered and deactivated his laser blades.

"I've never seen anything so sad in my life - except for that one time I accidently walked into the bottomless abyss known as the adult movie theater." Taka sighed; he paused, examining the groaning men. "Just a bunch of street thugs, like the Yellow Scarves from Durarara! or..." He trailed off and muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the man who Kitsune was holding at blade-point was spitting out curse words and insults. He shouted something incoherent about belonging to one of San Fransokyo's top gangs and how he would end their lives.

"Shut up." Kitsune deadpanned as he pressed the blade's tip closer to the man's eye. "I would be lying if I said that I thought it was perfectly normal for a bunch of street rats to be wandering around in this place. Now who sent y—

"I ain't tellin' you," the man spat, "or any of you jackshi—

He was cut off by a kick to the face and was sent skidding several feet away. Crimson dribbled from his mouth and he gagged on it. An iron scent flooded the air.

"Tadashi!"

Kitsune strode over to where the man lay groaning, picked him up by his dirty hair, and forced him into a kneeling position. He raised his katana once more and pointed it directly at the man's left eye. The blade was so close to the man's eye that the man couldn't even blink without getting his eyelids cut by its sharp edge.

"Shut up and listen. I'm talking." Kitsune ordered calmly. "If you don't answer my question, I will gouge out your left eye."

Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred, and Hiro were tensed. They faced Kitsune with hesitantly raised arms, signaling that they were just about ready to stop him. Their gazes were also hesitant, like they didn't believe that the man would actually go through with his threat. Tadashi wouldn't. That was certain. But Tadashi would not have made such violent threats either.

"Who," Kitsune spoke calmly with level eyes, "sent you."

The man blubbered incoherently.

Kitsune narrowed his eyes and flicked his wrists. There was a glint of silver and then a spurt of crimson. Following this was a blood-curdling scream. Such things happened in such a short amount of that Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Fred, and Hiro barely had the time to react before Kitsune was on the screaming man again. Kitsune grabbed said screaming man by the scruff of his shirt and lifted him up to eye-level.

"I'll ask aga—

"T-Tadashi!" Wasabi shouted as he stepped forward and pulled the addressed man back. "Dude, he's had enough!"

The force of the pull caused Kitsune to lose his grip on the squealing man's shirt; and the man fell to the floor in a heap. Honey Lemon and Baymax were at the man's side immediately, the former propping him up to a more comfortable position and the latter quickly putting his installed healthcare knowledge to use and tending to the man. Hiro, eyes wide, stood frozen in disbelief.

He didn't know why he was so shocked. He had seen Kitsune use a man as a human shield before. Perhaps it was because he actually that it was his brother that lay behind the mask this time around.

"Let go of him!" Hebi screeched, stomping her feet on the ground.

"Let go of me." Kitsune glowered at Wasabi.

"N-Not if you're going to go axe-crazy and start stabbing people's hearts out!" Wasabi shouted in exasperation; keeping his shaking voice steady, he stared into the eyeholes of the man's mask. "This isn't you, man!"

"You mean that Tadashi wouldn't do this." Kitsune deadpanned with a hint of amusement (?) in his voice. "There's a reason why I'm called Kitsune and not Tadashi."

"Dude," Fred drew slowly with a frown; he stepped forward and placed one hand on Kitsune's shoulder and the other on Wasabi's, "how about we all just chil—

A loud cacophony of coughs rose in the air. Usagi and Taka, who had both been strangely quiet during the entire ordeal, were the source of this cacophony. The two men were bent over and shaking in place. Their eyes were wide, and their hands clawed at their throats; and in between their hacking coughs were sickening gags. They were in pain.

"Usagi! Taka!" Hebi shouted in terror as she darted towards their swaying forms; she peered into their faces and shook their already shaking forms, before she whipped her head around wildly in desperation. "What's wrong with the—"

Almost as if the shakes were transferred by touch, Hebi's body became wracked by the very same tremors that were shaking their bodies. She gagged loudly and crumpled to her knees.

"Wha?" Wasabi shook his head in stupor. Shaking this stupor to the side, he released Kitsune from his grip and ran to the sides of the fallen three. Honey Lemon soon joined him; and together they hovered helplessly over their shaking bodies. They feared that if they even so much as breathed on them, the three would shatter into pieces right then and there. "What's wrong with them?!"

Honey Lemon shook her blonde head in confusion and fear. She sank to the floor and shakily reached out to them. It was then that she noticed the transparent, white clouds that were spilling out from the vents. She paled.

"Their bodies are rejecting the physically-enhancing serum," Baymax explained quickly as he waddled forward, "and they are suffering from bodily seizures as a result. I… I am sorry, but I am not equipped with the correct medication nor sufficient medical knowledge to reverse these effects. To prevent any further injury, however, we should turn them on their sides so that they do not choke on any secretions."

Wasabi and Honey Lemon hastily compiled with Baymax's directions.

"Now what?!" Wasabi exclaimed.

"It was…" the one-eyed man suddenly blubbered as he shook his head and pointed to the hallway. "The one who sent us was the octopus-masked man!"

Kitsune, who had been staring wide-eyed at the seizured trio, started at the man's accusation and turned sharply towards the hallway. He registered a confused-looking Hitsuji standing at the entrance of the hall with a slowly smirking Tako standing right behind him.

"Hitsuji!" Kitsune shouted. "Get awa—" His voice caught in his throat as a sharp pain shot through his chest. His hand shot up to his heart; and he winced tearily, swallowing a gag. Then, the world around became a hazy blur.

Fred and Hiro were at his side in an instant but were as hopeless as Honey Lemon and Wasabi in their attempts to help him. Every inch of Kitsune's body was shaking. It looked as if he was using every ounce of his will just to stay upright. Hiro supported him with equally shaking hands and searched his face with growing terror.

"Tadashi?! Tadashi, what's wrong?" Hiro cried. "Baymax!"

And then the man's head snapped backwards like a broken flower. His body fell limp, and he would have dragged Hiro to the ground with him if it had not been for the fact that Fred caught him in his arms. Gently, the rugged reptile-suited man guided his trembling friend down to the cold floor.

Hitsuji stared at the chaos unfolding before him in utter stupor. Why were all of his friends squirming on the ground? Why had Kitsune warned him to stay away from Tako? Perhaps Tako himself had the answers to these questions. Turning, the adolescent found himself staring up at dark, amused eyes.

"Oh?" Tako raised an eyebrow. "You didn't take the formula today, Sheep?"

"I… I never take it." Hitsuji mumbled. "Neko told me not to from the very beginning…"

Sighing and shaking his head, Tako reached for his belt, unhooked a hanging object there, and pointed that object squarely at Hitsuji's chest.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The full-clip of the man's gun unloaded in the adolescent's chest. The smell of gun-powder and smoke rose in the air as Hitsuji fell backwards. The white ceiling rushing above him was just like the one he had awoken to when he had stepped into his new life as an animal.

Did he have any regrets?

Not that he could think of.

After all, he had been blindly following others around like a sheep his entire life. There really hadn't been much meaning to his past-less life anyways.

He hit the floor with a sickening thud.

Honey Lemon's eyes widened in horror, while Wasabi became frozen in shock.

"H-Hitsuji…" Hebi whimpered under her breath.

"That's unfortunate, Sheep." Tako smiled lightly down at him; he spread his arms wide and gestured dramatically around the room: "Now, this event here marks the beginning of the conclusion of trials 5b and trial 6a of Project Doubutsu!"

"Tadashi!" Hiro cried as he fumbled over his brother's shaking body. "No, Tadashi, not again!"

Not again. Not again.

It was like the day of the showcase all over again.

Tadashi was in his sights; and he was about to enter the burning building.

He was about to disappear again.

He was about to die again.

No.

Not again.

He wouldn't be able to survive all of that pain again.

The room's temperature dropped as cold resolution burned in the adolescent's heart.

"Get him, Baymax!" Hiro shouted at the top of his lungs. "_GET him_!"

Before anything more chaotic could occur, however, Honey Lemon came to a stand, gestured wildy around the room, and shouted in a loud voice:

"The capsules! Use the capsules! They'll reverse the effects of the drug!"

She then bent back down, reached into her purse, and pulled out a small circular capsule. Quickly and efficiently, she popped the capsule into Hebi's mouth and coaxed the girl to swallow it.

Grimacing and scowling, Hebi allowed the capsule to slide down her throat. It released a coolness throughout her entire body, numbing it. Her shakes calmed and subsided, but she was left weak and exhausted. She couldn't keep her eyelids open and eventually allowed them to slide to a close.

Wasabi quickly forced the capsule that he had in his possession into Usagi's mouth and then called Fred over so that the latter could give Taka his capsule. Fred — after looking back and forth between Taka and Tadashi — bumbled over to where Taka lay, fumbled around his suit until he found the capsule, and clumsily popped the pill into the man's mouth.

Hiro flusteredly whipped out the capsule that he received from Honey Lemon and forced it past Kitsune's trembling lips.

"Come on, Tadashi." Hiro whispered fiercely, stroking his brother's matted hair. "Come on!"

And just as if cold water had been poured over his body, Kitsune's feverish trembles dissipated and his breathing steadied. He blearily opened his eyes and made out Hiro's relieved expression, before he fell unconscious.

_He's alive,_ Hiro thought with a smile.

A clapping sound suddenly echoed throughout the room. It was followed by a clear and amused laugh that rang in the air like a chimebell.

"As an artist, I am very impressed with the dramatic atmosphere you have created here." Tako complimented them as he continued to clap; sighing, he lowered his hands with a smile: "Well, even so, I'm afraid that I'll have to draw this tragedy to an end. It's my job after all."

"It's five against one." Hiro muttered darkly, hovering protectively over his brother's body and sending a glare in the Tako's direction. "The only that'll be ending is you, you traitor."

"Now, now," Tako waved him off as he pulled a cylinder object from his belt, "no need to get ahead of yourselves."

Honey Lemon eyed the object suspiciously. It was small and silver; and it had a little, red nodule resting on its top which, all in all, made it resemble a harmless pen. Honey Lemon knew better than that though. As realization dawned on her, her eyes widened in horror.

"I was initially supposed to do this after I eliminated my fellow animals." Tako sighed half-heartedly. "But I suppose I'll have to do this now instead."

"Stop him!"

Tako pressed the red nodule with his thumb and waved at them with his free hand.

A high-pitched whining sound rang in the air. It shook the atmosphere like an earthquake and then spread out from the atmosphere to the floor and ceiling. The floor crumbled away beneath their feet and the ceiling caved in above their heads.

They plummeted downwards.

...

Blackness rushed all around him and wind whipped viciously at his face. Hiro winced in pain — his eyes stung. Blinking through the tears that pricked his eyes, the adolescent attempted to make out surroundings. But everything was a blur. Suddenly, however, a humanoid form entered his peripheral vision.

Tadashi.

Hiro reached for his brother in the darkness and clung to him. He wasn't sure if he was doing such a thing in order to repay all of the times his brother clung to him in situations of danger or if he was simply trying to comfort himself. Maybe it was was both.

A clicking sound echoed in the air. And from the corner of his eyes, Hiro could see pieces of metal flying upwards — no, that wasn't exactly right. He was simply falling faster than the scraps of metal because there was more air resistance acting on him than the scrap metal.

Hiro blanched. He couldn't believe that he was thinking about conceptual physics when he was plummeting to his death. He was such a damn nerd.

One of the scraps of metal rammed against his helmet and sent it flying off into the distance. Great.

Before the adolescent could berate himself any further, however, two soft arms enveloped his form and three other forms beside him. He found himself pressed up against a plastic softness that reminded him of an bouncy house.

Baymax.

The white robot had shed its armor to save Hiro, Kitsune, and the two others with them. So, holding these four people tightly in his arms, Baymax hit the floor below with a loud boing and bounced up and down for several long seconds. After these seconds passed, he stilled and released the group of four from his grasps.

"Wearing a helmet will better help prevent you from injury." Baymax offered.

"Well, I was wearing one before it got smacked off by your flying bits of armor." Hiro replied matter-of-factly as he hopped off of the robot's belly and observed his surroundings with a frown. "And now I can't even use my microbots anymore, and it looks like we could've used them..."

Rubble littered the ground in piles. From these piles rose toppled pillars that held up slabs of concrete above their heads. The slabs were stacked up on top of each other and were varying in size. Dull light poured in from the spaces in between the slabs, and it illuminated the darkness in an ominous fashion.

It didn't take long for Hiro to realize that they were trapped.

A soft groan sounded from behind Hiro, causing the adolescent to turn in surprise. From behind Baymax's prostrate form arose a head of wild, frizzy dark hair.

"Wasabi!" Hiro exclaimed as he scrambled over to the man and helped him to his feet. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm kind of freaking out, but I'm good. " Wasabi answered in minor hysterics as he brushed himself off; he looked around in stupor and surveyed his surroundings. "Wait, where is everybody?"

"I…" Hiro shook his head and bit his lower lip. "I don't know…" He paused, gesturing to where an unconscious Kitsune and an unconscious Taka were laying on Baymax's stomach. "Baymax caught us, Tadashi, and the Taka guy before we fell… And we fell from really high..."

Wasabi studied the adolescent carefully, before he put a hand on his shoulder. Hiro started at the sudden touch and looked up at the man's face. The man smiled back down at him.

"I'm sure they're fine, buddy." Wasabi reassured him; he then moved forward, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted in a loud voice: "Honey Lemon! Fred! Are you guys alright?"

His questioning voice echoed loudly around the premises, before it died away and was met with silence. The silence rung loudly in his ears, before it too was silenced and became replaced with the deafening thumping of his heart.

"Honey Lemon!" Hiro tried from beside him — he was shouting with all of his might. "Fred!"

Silence.

His heart stopped in the cage of his chest.

No. It couldn't be. There was no way tha—

A soft and muffled shout — indistinct at best.

Hiro and Wasabi immediately exchanged looks with widened eyes.

The sound had originated from beyond a caved-in wall at the opposite side of the premises.

Could it be?

Hiro and Wasabi approached the pile of rubber and plaster cautiously. They tuned their ears and tried in unison:

"Honey Lemon?! Fred?!"

Hiro pressed his ear up against one of the slabs that made up the caved-in wall and strained to listen to the ongoings that were occurring from beyond it. At first, he heard nothing; and then—

"—some wicked sick foamy stuff, Honey Lemon!"

"Fred!" Hiro exclaimed, pounding against the wall.

Wasabi gazed at him with widened eyes, before he began pounding against the wall as well.

"Guys!" He shouted. "Are you guys okay?! We're over here!"

Shuffling resounded from behind the wall, followed by pounding and ecstatic shouting:

"Hiro?!" Came the recognizable, mellifluous sound that was Honey Lemon's voice. "Wasabi?! Dios mio! Are you guys alright?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Wasabi shouted back with a fierce nod. "Baymax caught us!"

"Are you guys hurt?" Hiro questioned worriedly.

"Nah, little dude!" Came Fred's voice. "Honey Lemon made this weird goopy stuff form on the ground with her cool chemical weapon thing. It broke our fall. Snake girl, bunny dude, and the gangster guys are with us too. KO'd though."

"That's a relief… " Hiro sighed with a faint smile, before he became flustered. "I mean it's a relief that they're okay — not that they're knocked out." He paused, ruffling his hair before he continued: "Tadashi and the Taka guy are with us — they're knocked out cold too — but it looks like everyone made it down safely."

_Everyone except for Hitsuji... _Hiro bit his lip and lowered his eyes.

"Yeah," Wasabi grimaced, "we're safe, but we're completely trapped. _And_ we're seperated."

"Why don't you just laser blade our way out of here?" Fred suggested helpfully.

"Yeah?" Wasabi frowned. "And bring the entire building down on our heads while I'm at it?"

"Maybe Baymax could do a thing or Hiro could use his microbots." Fred suggested once more.

"No can do." Hiro sighed. "I lost my helmet so I can't use my microbots, and Baymax threw out his armor to save us."

There was silence.

"Hey, don't worry." Honey Lemon reassured them. "I'm sure we'll find our way out somehow. Plus, Gogo is still out there. I'm sure she'll get us help once she finds out what happened."

"Yeah…" Hiro agreed, before he raised his head. "We should all try to look for another way out until then."

"Agreed!" Came Honey Lemon in a sing-song voice.

"See you dudes on the flip side!" Fred bid them farewell.

His good-bye was followed by a loud shuffling sound that eventuallydied away. The two had left.

"Alright, then." Wasabi nodded stiffly as he glanced down at Hiro. "Where do you want to start?"

"How about you start by telling me what happened."

The question had not come from Hiro; rather, the grunted question had originated from behind the then duo. Turning their heads, Hiro and Wasabi identified a prostrate figure rising from Baymax's stomach. The figure glanced down at the robot apprehensively, before he hopped off of it and landed on the ground with two unsteady feet.

"Tadashi," Baymax stated warningly, "you are suffering from withdrawal symptoms, and you're body may go into shock if you are not careful. Would you like to rest on me to recover? You designed me for such purposes."

Kitsune, whose mask had become lost during the fall, continued to stare apprehensively at the robot. Was this the same robot that had been covered in red and purple armor? Was this the same one that had single-handedly defeated Hebi? ... It looked like a gigantic marshmallow.

A sharp pain shot through his temple causing him to double over in pain. From the corner of his eye, he could see Hiro and Wasabi make way towards him. Their concerned expressions irritated him. To show them his contempt, he held out his hand and sent them a dark glare.

"Don't touch me."

Hiro and Wasabi stopped short a foot or two away from the man. They exchanged uncertain looks.

"Now," Kitsune straightened himself, "tell me what happened."

"Er," Wasabi tried, "what's the last thing you remember?"

"You tackling me." Kitsune answered darkly. Their was a threatening glint in his eye.

"Dude," Wasabi frowned, "I stopped you for a reason."

"What reason?" Kitsune asked. "Don't tell me it was morals. It's not right to graft your beliefs onto another person."

"No." Wasabi shook his head. "I..."

'I couldn't let you use Tadashi's body to hurt another person like that.'

"Anyways." Hiro coughed loudly. "It turns out that your octopus friend is a traitor — I'm not surprised, by the way. He somehow made the formula that you took turn against you."

"Tako, did..." Kitsune muttered. His eyes narrowed.

"We gave you all something that reversed the effects and basically cleaned the drug out of your systems." Hiro continued.

"You what."

Hiro winced as he received yet another dark, glowering look.

"Well, sorry for saving your lives!" Hiro retorted hotly as he threw his hands up in the air.

Ignoring his statement, Kitsune dug into his back pocket and pulled out a plastic bag. Whatever the contents of the bag had been, they were almost unrecognizable now. Smashed pieces of glass protruded from the bag, and a clear blue liquid leaked from the lacerations. Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Kitsune tossed the bag to the side and slowly walked over to where Baymax and Taka lay.

"Continue." He said.

Wasabi and Hiro exchanged looks again, before Wasabi decided to step forward and finish the explanation:

"I think the Tako guy pre-rigged the place with explosives or something 'cause…"

The duo watched as Kitsune bent down next to Taka's unconscious body. The older Hamada began to pat the man down and rifled through the man's trench coat pockets.

"Er... And so the building basically exploded and we fell through to this level of the building which I didn't even know existed until now."

Kitsune paused as his fingers wrapped around a square object residing in the Taka's back pocket. He pulled the object out and held it to the dim light that poured in through the rubble that made up the ceiling. A packet of Marlboro smokes. Perfect.

"We are on what remains of the fourth under level floor of this building structure." Baymax provided helpfully.

"The others are alright," Wasabi continued, before he paused and stared holes into his shoes, "but Hitsuji — Tako got to him. I'm sorry."

Kitsune silently shook a cigarette out of the box and pulled it out with his lips. He then dug into his pocket and pulled a small silver lighter that was no larger than his palm. He flicked it open and ignited the flame.

The flickering orange was captured in his dark pools. It was evident that he was fascinated with the fire. The sight of it made Hiro uneasy.

Finally, after several long seconds, Kitsune shakily lifted the lighter to the cigarette hanging in his lips and allowed the heat from the flame to light the cigarette's end. He then snapped the lighter shut and re-pocketed it while sucking in deeply. He visibly shivered as he released a puff of smoke.

"That's unfortunate..." He finally muttered, averting his eyes.

The man's reaction to the death of his supposed friend was...dissonant. It was like he was stating his opinion on weather rather than sorrowing over a friend's death. Wasabi decided not to pry into the matter in fear of starting something that couldn't be ended or undone. Wasabi supposed that Hiro had thought along similar lines, because the adolescent brought up a different matter:

"You smoke?"

"It's better than nothing." Kitsune answered, glancing down at his discarded plastic bag and taking another drag with crossed arms.

"Can I try one?" Hiro asked, hand extended, with a cheeky (yet noticeably forced) grin.

"Uh," Wasabi frowned, "are you sure we should be doing this ri—

"No way." Kitsune deadpanned.

"What?" Hiro scowled. "And why not?"

"Have you ever heard of lung cancer?" Kitsune shot back, becoming visibly irritated.

"Yeah," Hiro shot back snarkily, "but that's obviously not stopping you, is it?"

"I'm... different." He replied, wincing and pinching the bridge of his nose. He took another long drag from the cigarette and allowed it to hang in his mouth as he looked around. "We need to try and find a way out of here."

"That _was_ what we were doing," Hiro said smugly, "before you decided to wake up and throw a tantrum."

Kitsune ignored him and nudged the unconscious Taka with his foot. The man groaned lightly but otherwise remained still. This prompted Kitsune to knee the man hard in the gut. The violent action warranted a shout of protest from Wasabi and a… swooping hug from Baymax.

It was a strange and frankly hilarious sight.

There the cold and stoic Kitsune was being hugged and patted on the head by Baymax. The man's expression flickered in between strained indifference, shock, and confusion.

"There, there," Baymax sang, "violence does not resolve anything. Kindness and care resolves all problems."

"I…?" Kitsune shook his head in stupor. "... What."

Hiro was laughing wildly, while Wasabi was suppressing a confused grin. Meanwhile, Taka still snored away on the floor.

"You heard him, Tadashi." Hiro wiped a tear from his eyes. "Violence is not the answer."

It was then that Taka stirred from the ground and groaned loudly. And continued to groan. And groan. And groan. (Wasabi, Hiro, and Kitsune [who was still being tightly hugged by Baymax] stared at him with varying expressions.) After a minute or so of this groaning, Taka rose into a sitting position and blinked blearily in an attempt to focus his vision. Unfortunately for him (or fortunately?), the first thing that he focused on was the image of Kitsune being hugged tightly by Baymax.

"Aight," Taka nodded to himself, "cool. Still trippin' balls, like that one guy from Trippin'." He slowly laid back down. "I'm out."

Before he could even lower his head back onto the ground, however, Kitsune pulled himself away from Baymax's grasp, strode over to where Taka was prostrated, and kicked him in the cheek with his shoe.

"Get up."

Taka opened an eye and sighed. He hopped up to a stand, but soon found himself swaying in place.

"What the…" He mumbled, putting a hand to his head. "I feel like I just cut out my stomach and used it as a lasso like an extreme survivalist version of the Lone Ranger or some cowboy or somethin'."

"Tako betrayed us." Kitsune explained, hand on hip, as he took another drag of his cigarette. "We're off of the Doubutsu formula—-"

"Jegus. No wonder. Maybe now we can have some sorta pseudo alcoholics anonymous thing — but with the formula instead of the alcohol obviously." Taka drew out as he threw his mask off and quickly patted down his pockets. "Like, maybe we could be Formula-addicts Faceless or somethin'. That's got alliteration ain't it? As for the whole Tako thing… Well, that is more surprising than what happened when Aizen was revealed to be the big bad of Bleach. Which reminds me: I need to be the newest copy o— where the hell are my smokes."

"Uh…" Wasabi side-glanced at Kitsune.

Taka followed his gaze and registered the fact that the older Hamada had a cigarette dangling in his mouth.

"Damn, boy." Taka raised an accusatory eyebrow at him. "Your fingers are stickier than gum in hair. What are you? Some unsociable version of Remy Lebeau?"

"You're just unobservant." Kitsune replied, throwing the man his lighter and the pack of smokes.

Taka clumsily caught both items and quickly lit himself a cigarette.

"... Hitsuji." Kitsune finally stated. "He's dead. Tako killed him."

The cigarette the man had been holding in between his fingertips fell to the ground — not that the man himself noticed it fall. Taka was too busy staring at Kitsune with disbelief to even care.

"_H-Hitsuji_?" Taka repeated, his usually stolid expression morphing into one that resembled confusion. "Y-You mean... the little guy?" His voice cracked as he spoke; and he shook his head, his eyes becoming wide. "You… You can't be serious! Come on... That _can't_ be."

Hiro lowered his eyes and looked away. Looking at Taka's reaction was just like looking into the past. He empathized with the man. Biting his lips, he prepared to step forward and console him, but he was cut off by a choking laugh—

"That _bastard_."

Taka spat such a phrase out as he dug his nails into his blonde hair. Wasabi's heart nearly stopped as he registered the manic expression that was on the man's face. It was an expression that was in itself a paradox. A smile was stretched out across his cheeks, but hot tears were streaming down them as well.

"T-Taka…"

"_Argh_! Let's go kill the bastard!" Taka hissed, dropping his hands and gesturing manically at nothing. "Let me unload a clip into his mouth, reload, and empty another one!"

For a moment no one dared to move or breathe. The next moment, however, saw to Kitsune approaching the man slowly and steadily. He stopped several feet away from the trembling man, drew his hand back, and—

— slapped the man right across the face.

The slapping sound echoed loudly throughout the air.

Wasabi and Hiro gaped at the sudden change of events. Taka was left gaping as well. He held his reddened cheek in confusion and slowly blinked back at Kitsune as if he were emerging from a dream.

"Get a hold of yourself." Kitsune ordered, bending down to pick up the fallen cigarette and handing it to the man. "And be rational. What's gone is gone."

Taka grimaced, rubbed his temple with one hand, and took the cigarette with the other.

"I don't even know what came over me, man." Taka shook his head slowly and shakily took a drag of the cigarette. "Feels like I suddenly became Naruto or some jinchuriki and got taken over by the kyuubi."

"Dude," Wasabi murmured softly as he approached the man and placed a hand on his shoulder, "you totally lost it there for a second. Are you sure you'll be able to… keep at this?"

"Yeah." Taka replied as he shook his head once more. "I just…"

"You really look like you could use a nap." Hiro interjected as he joined their sides.

"Psychosis." Baymax spoke suddenly in a worried and clipped tone. "Taka and Tadashi are experiencing one of the many symptoms of withdrawal."

"Psychosis?" Taka frowned. "Am I going to be psychic or something?"

"Psychosis." Baymax restated. "Definition: Psychosis refers to an abnormal condition of the mind and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a 'loss of contact with reality'. People experiencing psychosis may exhibit some personality changes and thought disorder." (*)

Wasabi and Hiro paled at the newly given information.

"So I'm not psychic then." Taka frowned, sounding rather disappointed.

"My scanners indicate that the other members of Tadashi group may be experiencing something similar." Baymax finished with a slight tilt of his head. "Supervision so no self-injury occurs and rest are recommended."

"Well, you heard him." Hiro frowned, hands on hips, as he looked the two smoking men over. "You guys need to stay here and rest."

"And wait here to rot and die?" Kitsune asked thickly. "The two of us staying here would create complications."

"You wandering out there will create complications!" Hiro retorted hotly.

"I agree with Hiro." Wasabi nodded. "You two might hurt yourselves out there."

Kitsune paused, considering.

"You should stay with them too, Wasabi. You and Baymax." Hiro added. "So they don't hurt themselves."

"I do not think that this is a wise decision, Hiro." Came Baymax's droning voice.

"What?" Wasabi shouted. "But what about you?"

"Do you plan on flouncing out there and having a stray pillar fallen on you?" Kitsune asked darkly and morbidly through a haze of blurriness. After realizing that he was receiving strange looks, he rubbed his throbbing eyes and waved him off. "Do as you wish, kid."

"I'll be fine." Hiro reassured them, throwing a quick look of worry in Kitsune's direction. "Besides, I'm… _small_." He winced as he said the word, but continued anyways: "… so I'll be able to squeeze through tight spaces better. I'll be back soon with a way out before you even know that I'm gone."

Before anyone else could raise a word of protest, he was gone, disappearing down a small dark opening that was nestled in the opposite wall. Wasabi, Baymax, and Kitsune stared after him with varying expressions. Taka, on the other hand, was busily digging into his coat pocket in search of something. He pulled that something out and slid it over his eyes. Aviator shades. Having put this article of clothing on, the man plopped onto Baymax's belly.

"Nap time." He yawned. "Night."

And he said nothing more.

Kitsune looked down at the man's prostrate form with indifference. He took another drag of his cigarette, tilted his head up, and blew a ring of smoke into the air. The gray wisp swirled upwards in the air, before it faded away in the light. He paused, noticing Wasabi's uneasy stare, and returned it with an icy overtone. The man held his stare despite this fact.

Shrugging the staredown off, Kitsune walked over to a stray slab of concrete and sank into it. He then rested his elbows on his knees and stared off into the distance. At first, he would take a drag of his shrinking cigarette every few minutes; but as time wore on, he stilled; and it became apparent that he either did not wish to smoke it anymore or he had altogether forgotten that he had been smoking it in the first place.

Becoming uneasy at the man's sudden stillness, Wasabi approached him and slowly sank into a higher slab of concrete that had fallen beside him. Kitsune didn't react. He either hadn't noticed Wasabi's presence or he was simply ignoring it. Hoping that it was the former rather than the later, Wasabi initiated the conversation:

"You doin' okay, man?"

Kitsune continued to stare forward. The line of ash that had formed at the butt of his cigarette fell to the ground.

Wasabi's eyebrows furrowed and his frown deepened. He reached for the man's shoulder and shook the man lightly.

"Hey—

Kitsune recoiled immediately, the cigarette falling from his lips and clattering noiselessly on the ground. He stared up at Wasabi with wide and tensed eyes.

"Woah, man." Wasabi raised his hands above his head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you, man."

Kitsune blinked at Wasabi in confusion, like he was having a hard time focusing on the man's image.

"No," Tadashi shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm… I'm sorry."

Wasabi froze and lowered his hands.

Here it was again.

The glimpse of Tadashi.

... But was this just a symptom of the withdrawal? Was the man just delirious?

"Tadashi," he swallowed as he slowly placed his hand on the man's back; when he saw that the man did not recoil this time, he continued, "are you… er… do you… want to… talk… about it?"

There was a long pause of silence, and then:

"What's the point of this?"

Wasabi nearly fell out of his seat in surprise.

"I promised that person that I would do this." Tadashi continued as he buried his face in his hands. "I promised… but I don't think I can anymore."

Promise?

What promise?

His voice had sounded so vulnerable, so weak, so different from the voice of Kitsune, so different from Tadashi's voice even.

Wasabi swallowed, mulled over the information he had been given, and provided his best bout of advice for the man: "Well, if you don't want to do 'this' anymore then don't. Confront the person and tell them that you can't keep your… promise. 'Be assertive' — just like you told me, man."

"'_Confront_ the person', you say…?"

Tadashi lifted his head up from his hands and warily side-glanced at Wasabi. Wasabi nodded confidently back at him, but froze and paled as he saw something curl up the man's face: a cold and cruel smirk. It was an expression that was followed by a quiet and empty chuckle:

"Ah, but I already killed that person."

Meanwhile, Hiro found himself wandering down a winding dark hallway. Doors lined the hall in droves, but most of them were blocked by pieces of fallen rubble. It was all very discouraging. That was the reason why he became so ecstatic when he found a room that was not blocked off. It was a possible exit.

Pushing this un-blocked manilla door open, Hiro slid into the room that lay behind it. What unfolded before him was not what he had been searching for, but the adolescent couldn't help but linger in its premises.

The entire room was lined with pipes and wires that all connected to a large screen and panel that took up an entire wall at the room's back. He approached this device with mild curiosity and ran his fingers — collecting dust at his fingertips while he was at it — along its edge.

Nothing too interesting.

He tapped a key on the panel and watched as the screen flickered to life. A conglomeration of divided videos played out on the screen; and Hiro skimmed them with mild interested. This interest skyrocketed and morphed into disbelief as his gaze fell on a video that was playing at the very corner of the screen.

There his white-clad brother stood smiling brightly at a young girl who swayed beside him.

Hiro's eyes flickered to the top of the screen where a slew of words illuminated in green flickered. They read as follows:

'Record Log: Trial 5b'

* * *

(*) from Wikipedia

* * *

_Next Chapter_: Shiro Kaisō (白回想)

∟ "White Recollection"

'_[Day 0]_

_Group: B_

_Trial: 5b_

_Your breath hitches; your lashes flutter. _

_You are now awake._

_(You may not know it at this moment, but you are Tadashi Hamada and you have survived.)_

_You are __**alive**__.'_

* * *

**A/N: **/twitches. Jegus. This chapter was over 9k words (not including this author's note). I almost died typing it. I spend so much time on this fic that I don't know what I'm going to do with myself after I finish it. If I finish it. I have this nasty habit of abandoning fics that I write. This is actually the first fic that I've ever managed to write twelve chapters of. Quite the accomplishment. Hopefully I'll be able to stick to it... Anyways, mentally prepare yourself for mental breakdowns because those are just around the corner!

(Side-note: Now a moment of silence for the fallen Hitsuji v-v.)

(Another side-note: I'm deciding on whether or not to write a side-story that takes place in between Paradise (II) and Clash where Kitsune visits the Tadashi Hamada memorial thing. What do you guys think?)

Thanks to all those who read, followed, and favorited!

A bunch of love goes out to —-

teengens: Thanks c;! And alright! Here's an early chapter for you!

Avatar4ever: Sorry, man v-v. I wouldn't have been able to update as fast if I had combined these chapters… v-v. Here you go though!

Random Reader 17: Ah, those are good OSTs! And yes, it is! God, that show gives me soo many feelings. My poor bbs Alphonse, Edward, Roy, and Greedling. I just can't. And I can't believe they took the series off of Netflix! That's not cool…. ;c As for Hebi - she's just jealous of Hiro really. Many thanks for the compliments!

ghoul: Here's a chappie for you!

bukulay: I don't want to give out spoilers… but anti!Hiro will return near the end of this story, and Tadashi will...er… you'll see.

skydancerfyremagyk: I can definitely see that you don't like Hebi at all xD. There will be a lot of brotherly bonding time in future chapters - one of which is linked to Hebi's actions. I'm glad that you're enjoying my fic! Many thanks for the virtual cookies! They're absolutely delicious!

Ethian V: Thanks! And about the rule thing… I saw on tumblr that there was a book or something called "Tadashi and Hiro" or something, and it mentioned those rules, right?… or something. What I would do to get my hands on that book… xD

Guest (1): Thanks! c;

FanGirlJen: True, true. Oh, you take Mandarin? That's really cool! I took Latin, but I dropped this year. Here's an update for you!

MangaMan900: First off, let me thank for giving such a lengthy and detailed review! I appreciate it much! To be honest, writing the characters OOC is one of my major fears. Sorry for any OOCness v-v''. It's a bit hard sometimes writing them in character. I'm glad that you enjoyed the OCs! As for their appearances… I was kinda being vague to leave the OCs' appearances up to the readers' imaginations. I could be more detailed if you want though. Taka is one of my favorite OCs in this fic too. Writing his dialogue is... enjoyable xD. As for Tako… as you can see, he is definitely a manipulative bastard. (I actually looked up the characters you compared them too; and I noticed the similarities xD.) Tadashi will more or less recover… And, to wrap this reply all up, I'm glad that you're enjoying this story so far and I apologize for any grammatical and spelling errors. I plan on going back to fix the things, although I suppose that I could get a beta or something… Herm. Anyways, once again: thank you much for your lovely review! /hugs and kisses to you!

Producciones Escudo: Lol, thanks! xD You have such a wonderful way of describing things! Well, some of the Kabuki-masked people are trustworthy but others… not so much.

freebird4: /le gasp. Your profile pic now is just… so…. /tears up. Beautiful. My bby. /coughs. Anyways… Thank you much! I'm flattered c;.

Anon: I'll dabble a little bit of that pairing in this fic. I think there might be a slight tadahoney scene in chapter 14.

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Ack! Don't die either! /patpat. I completely understand your pain though.

Sabeloid: And here's the next chapter for you!

Guest (2): Lol, exactly! That's exactly what it is! That's perfect. Lmao. I nearly died laughing.

Ember Neutron: Oh! I think someone mentioned something similar a while back in a review, so I looked up the song… I completely agree xD!

Fujhi poudes-Escapa non: Many thanks! And I agree with the tsundere thing XD. I might write a parody side story of an extremely tsundere KitTada. And Hebi and Hiro _will_ butt heads in a future chapter over Tadashi /nodnod.

Cresscent: I'm glad that you're enjoying their interactions and the fic altogether. Many thanks for the compliments o u o!

—- for your wonderful reviews!

(/hyperventalates. Over 200 reviews already?! I… I don't think my heart can take this.. o u o)


	13. White Recollection ( I )

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Thirteenth Encounter_: Shiro Kaisō (白回想), Ichii

∟ "White Recollection ( I )"

* * *

As soon as the recorded videos started playing on the screen, Hiro realized that the videos were corrupted. The videos playing continuously flickered back and forth between recordings of different time slots. They were on 'Day 1' one second, then 'Day 32' the next second with no in between except bursts of static. At times, the images were not even discernable

Hiro scowled in frustration at this fact and scanned the keyboard in irritation. The controls looked simple enough. Thus, he began to filter the videos and restore them to the best of his abilities. He did it as quickly as he could manage (he still had to find a way out, after all), and thus his results were only sub-par. Nonetheless, he rebooted the screen and was soon sucked in.

* * *

[Day 32]

Trial: 5b

"Please..."

The man before you stutters the word as he clutches a handful of white bracelets in his left hand and a knife in the other. The bracelets are as white as the man's clothing.

"You helped me before, remember?" The man continues. "You saved me and my sister from those thugs on level two. My sister ... Please, I'm just doing this for my sister!"

You watch as the man's grip on the bracelets and the knife tighten. You calculate that as soon as you turn your back, he is going to drive that knife through your heart.

"Please..."

_| Fight and survive. _

You decide to tell the man a fact of life:

"Sentiment is a fatal flaw in this world."

You pull the trigger.

There is a splatter of warmth on your face.

The bracelets and knife clatter to the ground. White and silver against a pool of red.

You bend down and pick the bracelets up.

You have fought and you have survived.

{Hiro lowered his widened eyes and turned away from the screen.

So… Tadashi had killed after all.

Tadashi. His brother… was... a murderer?

No...

Tadashi would always be Tadashi...}

* * *

[Day 0]

Group: B

Trial: 5b

Your breath hitches; your lashes flutter.

You are now awake.

(You may not know it at this moment, but you are Tadashi Hamada and you have survived.)

You are alive.

_| Breathe. _

You take in a deep breath, and you see your chest rise. It's a strange feeling — the feeling of air filling and unfilling your lungs over and over again. You briefly wonder why it feels so strange and soon find yourself becoming overly self-conscious of your own breathing.

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

_| Enough._

_| Observe._

You observe your surroundings and realize that there isn't really much to observe. You are in a small white room; and you are laying on a bed that is chained to the wall. There is another bed chained above yours. Is anyone up there?

_| Listen._

You tune your ears, but all you can hear is a dull ringing inside of your head and the ups and downs of your own breathing. There is also an odd hum in the air, like an air conditioner spinning into action.

_| Sit up._

You slowly push yourself up into a sitting position and swing your legs over the bed. You have to duck your head slightly as to not ram it against the bed above you. Your own bed squeaks in protest beneath you.

_| Explore._

Your bare feet touch the cold tiled floor, and you come to a stand.

You are cold. The thin white garments that cover you do appear nice and new but are ultimately useless. They fail to stop the goosebumps that begin to prickle your skin like needles.

Shivering, you turn to study the chained bed that rests several feet above yours. Someone is laying on it hidden beneath the covers. You see the white sheets rise and fall with that someone's rhythmic breathing. A long rope of black hair clashes with the purity of the bedding sheets; long lashes sprout from pale, heavy lids like cropped grass.

It's a girl. A sleeping girl.

_| Wake her up?_

No! You can't do that. That would be rude. Besides, the girl obviously needs her sleep. Poor thing looks exhausted. And cold.

Bending down low, you pull the white sheets up from your bed and spread them gently across the girl's still form. It's not much, but it's the best that you can do.

_| Explore some more. _

You pace around the room dragging your fingertips along the humped surface of the wall. Something catches your eye as you do this. It's a glint of silver from across the room. A silver doorknob belonging to a white door. The door is so white that you would not have even noticed it if the doorknob had not been there.

You approach the door and try the knob. It's locked. You were expecting it to be locked, but still...

You sigh in defeat.

There's a stirring noise from behind you.

_| Turn._

You turn and see the girl who was sleeping in the suspended bed rise from it. The sheets fall down from her shoulders to her waist and reveal a slender body clothed in the same whiteness you are clad in.

You watch as the girl blinks blearily and scans the room in confusion. Her wide brown eyes land of your form and widen even further. She pulls her blankets up to her chest and scoots back against the wall. She is scared.

"Hey, it's okay!"

Your voice sounds strange in your ears, but you don't why. Shrugging this fact off, you slowly approach the girl and raise your hands to indicate that you mean her no harm.

You, hands still raised above your head, are now standing right by her bedpost. The girl stares at you and trembles. Tears are threatening to spill out of her eyes.

_| Comfort her! Console her!_

Flustered, you panic. You don't want her to be afraid of you; and you don't want her to cry either. If she starts crying, you have the feeling that your heart will be torn to pieces and you'll start crying too. So, you do the first thing that comes to mind: you make silly faces at her. Frowny faces, smiling faces, crazy faces — you make the whole lot of them and watch as the girl stops tearing up and instead stares at you.

"You…" The girl says in a soft voice with a raised eyebrow. "You do realize that I'm fourteen, right?"

You pause in the middle of a crazy face. She stares at you, and you stare at her. Strangely, you do not feel embarrassed. Rather, you feel a wave of relief wash over you. Lowering your still raised hands, you smile at the girl.

"No one is too old for for silly faces," you tell her matter-of-factly and smugly, "besides, it worked didn't it?"

Her cheeks become reddened; and her lips become pursed. It's adorable.

"I would be lying if I said that you weren't weird…" She grumbles, averting her eyes.

You find yourself laughing at her bashfulness. And before you know it, you're ruffling her hair.

{Hiro couldn't understand why the screen had suddenly become so blurry. He could barely see it now. It was like he was looking through glaze or wax paper. It took him several minutes to realize that he was crying.

Here he was.

Here Tadashi was.

The real Tadashi. His kind and annoying older brother. His nerd. His dork.

He reached out to touch the screen that captured Tadashi's smiling face.

He missed that smile. He missed that ruffling of the hair. He had never admitted that before and had always brushed such actions off as 'annoying', but now…?

He wanted so badly to be in that girl's position.}

"Stop that!" She shouts, smacking away your hand. "You weirdo, stop it!"

You comply with her request and allow her to collect her bearings.

"Where are we anyways?" she frowns as she gazes around the room. "Is this a hospital?"

Is it?

You're not sure. It's most likely not, but…

You study the fear that is growing in her eyes.

"Maybe it is," you murmur with a half-smile, before your expression melts into one of worry. "Why? Are you hurt?"

"What?" She blinks, before she frowns and shakes her head. "No…" She looks down at her hands and studies them. "At least… I don't think so…"

"You don't think so?" You raise an eyebrow; you look at her up and down. "Does it hurt anywhere?"

She shakes her head and peels away the blanket from her body. Her frown deepens as she studies her legs.

"I thought…" She mutters as she swings her leg off of the bed. "I thought that I…"

You peer into her face concerned.

"I thought I… I… There was an explosion."

"An explosion?"

You frown and give her a once over. Save for the bandages that are wrapped around her forearms, she looks perfectly fine. You can't be too sure though...

"Yeah." She looks up at you and squints at your face and then gestures towards her own face. "You were there too weren't you?

"Huh?"

"I mean," she tries again, lowering her hands, "you look like you've been…"

Is she insulting your appearance? A cheeky one she is

"Hey," you pout jokingly in protest, "you don't look so hot either, Miss —" You pause. You don't know her name.

"The name is Maya." The girl introduces herself as she toys with her hair. "Maya Rice."

"Maya Rice." You try the name on your tongue. "That's a very pretty name, Miss Rice."

"Of course!" Maya nods, creating a circlet of black with her hair around her fingertip. "Prettiest name on the earth."

You can't help but grin at her cheekiness, at her confidence.

"What about you?"

You stare at her in confusion.

"Your name. What is it?"

Oh.

_| Tell her your name._

"Although it isn't as pretty as yours," you draw coyly with a smug look, "my name is—-

You pause.

What are you doing? Tell her your name!

Your name?

Wait… do you even have one?

You can't recall ever receiving one.

Of course you do! Everyone has a name! A name is given to a person at birth — or sometimes later in certain cultural traditions. But how can you know that fact and not your own name?

It's quite the strange predicament that you've found yourself in—

— and then you realize that you can't even recall who this "you" who is in such a predicament is.

"Woah! Woah!"

Maya's voice draws you out of your confusion. She is now sitting at the very edge of the bed on her knees; and she is shaking you like a mad woman.

"Don't have a mental breakdown on me now!"

Her ebony eyes search your face in fear as she shouts the phrase — and she also spits on you a bit by accident, but you don't mention this.

You blink in confusion and shake your head.

"Er…" You frown. "What just happened?"

Maya's face is washed over with relief. Her tensed shoulders droop, and she removes her hands from your shoulders. Her relieved expression doesn't last long, however; and it morphs into an expression of miffedness.

"What just happened was," she explains with crossed arms, "that you fried a circuit in your brain after I asked you what your name was."

"Oh," you rub the back of your head and laugh lightly, "sorry about that. I guess I have amnesia or something 'cause I can't remember anything after waking up here."

"What?!" Maya exclaims, before she studies you apprehensively. "... How can you say that so easily…?"

You shrug with a half-hearted smile.

"Wait," she purses her lips and nods to you, "what does your band say?"

"My band?"

You're confused. You don't have a musical band...?

"Yeah," she nods; she raises her left wrist and points to a white and plastic bracelet that is wrapped around it, "the one on your wrist. Mine says Tanuki."

_| Locate your bracelet. _

"Tanuki?" You frown as you raise your arms to study them. "That means 'racoon' in Japanese."

You pause, because your heart has skipped a beat. Your left arm is consumed by pinkish scars that twist up all the way to your shoulder. You can't recall if the sight of the scars is normal to you. Pushing this matter to the side, you squint at the white band that dangles at your scarred wrist.

"Kitsune." You read the bold-face type that is printed on the band aloud; you lift your head up and blink at her. "It means 'Fox' in Japanese."

"You speak Japanese?" Maya raises an eyebrow in surprise.

You are surprised too.

"Yeah," you laugh, "I guess I do. I'm bilingual. See, amnesia isn't so bad. Everything will come back eventually."

"Whatever." She waves you off, before she points down at your bracelet. "I'll call you Kitsune until then."

"Kitsune?" You try the word and try to imagine it as a name. It doesn't work out so well. "Well, I guess since I have to be called _something_."

Maya eyes you suspiciously for a moment, before she slides off of her bunk with a loud huff. You watch as she wanders around the room and starts towards the door.

"I already tried that." You warn her. "It's locked, but you could try again if you want."

She reaches over and tries the door again. It doesn't budge, so she scowls intensely.

"I _did_ warn you." You sigh.

"Whatever." She scowls. "I would be lying if I said that I even cared about what you said."

"That wasn't very nice." You frown at her. Your head perks up as you realize something, and your frown curls up into an amused smile. "'I would be lying...'? Is that your catchphrase now?"

"That's always been my catchphrase."

"No need to be cheeky."

"I'm not cheeky." She replies cheekily. "I'm just blunt."

Maya strides over to where you stand. She is not looking at you, however. She is looking at the bed behind you. No, that isn't right either. She is looking at something that is beneath your bed. You step to the side, so that she has room to bend down and peer beneath the bed. Then, you bend down and peer beneath it too.

Six plastic water bottles.

Maya tries to swipe them out, but her arms are too short to reach them. The bottles are too far back.

_| Retrieve them._

You stretch out your arms and draw all of the bottles out from beneath the bed. They roll back and forth on the marbled flooring. The two of you eye them blankly.

"Great." Maya says with venomous sarcasm. "This solves everything."

"At least we won't get dehydrated." You say pointedly and positively.

Maya scowls at your pointedness and positivity.

**Attention to the patients of Trial 5b, Group B. Attention please. **

Maya shrieks in terror at the sudden, booming, mechanical sound that comes from nowhere. She visibly trembles and covers her ears. You automatically pull her in your arms and coax her.

"Hey, hey. It's okay! It's just... a weird voice thing. It can't hurt you."

**Attention. We are now commencing Trial 5b for Group B. We are now unlocking Rooms 1-3. We are now unlocking Rooms 1-3. **

There is a soft clicking sound. It comes from the locked door. Unlocked door apparently.

Nothing else follows the sound.

You stare at the door and then lower your gaze back to Maya. Her eyes are still wide, and she is still trembling.

"Hey," you whisper softly and gently as you peer into her eye. "Hey. It's okay. Look at me."

Maya blinks once, then twice. Her eyes focus on your face.

"Good. Now breathe deeply. Come on. I know you can do it."

Maya breathes in deeply and visibly relaxes.

"Good job."

"I..." She huffs. "I just hate loud noises."

"Thunderstorms must be rough, huh?" You ask jokingly as you release her and ruffle her hair.

Maya smacks your hands away with a glare.

"Stop that!" She scowls. She then points to the door and tilts her head — like a wilted flower, you think. "Is that thing unlocked now or what?"

You frown and stare at the door suspiciously.

_| Try the door._

"Wait here," you say as you draw yourself up to a stand.

You begin to walk over to the door, but pause as you hear shuffling behind you. You turn and find Maya blinking up at you expectantly.

"You're not the boss of me." She says matter-of-factly, hands on hips. "Besides, you look like you need my moral support to open that door."

You stare at her. She stares at you and nods at the door.

"Have at it, boy!"

"Unbelievable." You roll your eyes and rub your face in exhaustion. You give in. "Fine. Just stay behind me."

Maya nods fiercely at you with sparkling eyes.

You sigh and continue your path towards the door. Your fingertips wrap around the silver knob. You turn it without any resistance; and you slowly pull the door open about an inch or so.

A sliver of light hits your eye; and in that sliver of light you can see the wavering outlines of two individuals. They are standing in front of a door across from your own door. There is a bronze number welded to the front of their door. '2'.

"What do you see?" Maya hisses loudly in your ear as she stands on her tippy-toes and tries to peer over you. She smacks your arms, pushes you forward, and repeats her question — _repeatedly_.

"Ow!" You swallow your yelp and try to push her off. "Stop that! Stop—"

It's too late. She is too powerful.

You both fall forward through the door and land in a gigantic heap on the opposite side. Fortunately, you are the one who hits the hard floor. Maya is relatively and relievingly unharmed because she has landed on top of you. She blinks at you and flashes a grin as she realizes this. You frown at her in return. And then you see what lays behind her.

The two people that you saw in the crack of the door are hovering over the both of you. A man and a woman. Both are wearing hesitant and fearful expressions.

Maya scrambles to a stand and you follow suit. The man and woman quickly back away from the two of you. The two of them stare at you, and the two of you stare at them.

The man is large and tanned with dark hair and dark eyes. He almost towers over you — or maybe he is just normal-sized and your just short? You don't really know how tall you are, so you can't tell. The man has a protective arm slung over the woman's shoulder. The woman is small and pale with light hair and light eyes. The man and woman are almost complete opposites, save for the fact that they are clad in white like you.

_| Introduce yourself_.

"Hey," you smile brightly and extend your right hand, "I'm…" You pause, glancing down at your bracelet. "I'm Kitsune. Nice to, er, meet you."

The two stare at you, before the man steps forward and hesitantly takes your hand.

"Nakamura," the man introduces himself in a husky voice, "Nakamura Kai."

"Chocho." The woman nods slowly at you with wariness.

"Chocho?" You repeat in surprise. "That means 'butterfly'..." You pause, seeing her expression darken, before you smile brightly at her. "It's a beautiful name."

"It's not my actual name…" She murmurs, lowering her eyes.

You are confused again, but before you can say anything, you are caught off guard by the presences of two other people. The two, a young man and a young woman, stand adjacent to you and in front of a door nestled in between your door and door 2. Their door reads '3'.

The young man has unruly curly black hair that is mopped over his dark green eyes. Dark green eyes that are filled with utmost indifference. He gazes steadily with crossed arms at you and Maya. He is sizing the two of you up apparently. The young woman, on the other hand, gazes at the two of you with fascination. You suppose that she must find the two of you really fascinating, because a smirk begins to play on her lips. She has bright copper hair that winds down to her back; and her fascinated eyes are brown in hue.

You extend your right hand out for them. The woman steps forward and shakes your hand _hard_.

"Well, Kitsune," the woman smirks more as she bows (mockingly?), "I'm Sierra." She thumbs the man standing behind her. "The unsociable boy over there is apparently named 'Knives'."

A strange name. But you can't really be the judge of that right now, can you? ... Maybe it's a nickname.

"Maya," Maya coughs loudly and suddenly from behind you, "Maya Rice is my name."

Sierra bends down and smiles coyly at her with an extended hand. Maya moves forward to shake it and then slithers back behind you. Your not sure if she's using you as a human shield or if she's just shy.

You suddenly feel a dark and intense stare prickle your skin. You turn towards the stare and meet a green gaze. You smile lightly. Knives keeps on his stolid mask. Your smile falters slightly.

"You seem nice." Knives says. He speaks in a strange monotone that makes you unsure of whether or not he is being sarcastic.

"Oh, thanks..." You laugh. "You seem nice to—

"Nice people scare me."

"I…" You pause and blink. "I actually have no idea how to respond to that..."

"So," Kai mutters under his breath, "does anyone know exactly what's going on here?"

"I would be lying if I said that I did." Maya replies matter-of-factly.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Sierra asks the phrase as it is a simple common sense manner. You and the others — save for Knives who still looks like he could care less — turn to look at her curiously and inquiringly.

"We're in the afterlife. Limbo. Purgatory."

Her answer is met with silence.

"This chick is crazy." Maya whispers into your ear.

"Purgatory?" Chocho repeats in barely a whisper. Her eyes become filled with terror. "I'm dead...?"

"Hey, wait," you frown as you glance reassuringly at Chocho, "let's not jump to conclusions here."

"It's obvious though." Sierra rolls her eyes. "I mean, we're all dressed in white..."

"That hardly—"

"And apparently we've all been caught in some kind of freak accident," Sierra continues, still smirking, "am I right or am I right?"

"Accident…" Maya tenses.

Kai visibly pales. Chocho starts trembling with a look of utter confusion. Knives continues to look indifferent. Behind you, Maya is squirming in place.

"Welcome to Purgatory, folks."

You watch as Kai slowly slides to the ground in despair. Chocho stares at him uncomprehendingly and holds her head in her shaking hands. Knives continues to look indifferent. Maya bites her lips, clenches her fists tightly, and stares at the ground.

"But that doesn't make sense." You repeat.

No one answers you. They are too terrified or too indifferent to answer you.

This is bad. If someone doesn't say something, this entire situation may deteriorate into something terrible.

_| Do something. Help somehow._

You don't know how to though.

But… there is no way that the others or even you can be dead. After all…

Your hand drifts towards your chest and rests there.

Thump-Thump. Thump. Thump-Thump. Thump.

Your eyes widen.

"Everyone," you shout as you look around and meet their gazes; you slap your hand against chest, "put your hands to your chests _now_."

Everyone looks at you in surprise and confusion. But surely and slowly, everyone (starting with Maya) begins to press their palms to their chests — even Knives does it (although he still looks indifferent).

"Okay, there." You say coaxingly as you press your hand up against your rib cage to. "You feel that? That there is your heart beating; and the last I checked, having a beating heart means that you're alive." You pause and sigh with a smile, "Every single one of us is alive. We're _here_ right now."

There is a long pause of silence as everyone quietly feels the thrum of their hearts against their palms. The tension that hangs in the air loosens as everyone visibly relaxes.

You sigh in relief.

"I would be lying if I said that that wasn't impressive." Maya whispers from beside you, as she lowers her hand from her chest. "But I would also be lying if I said that that wasn't the corniest thing ever."

You are not sure whether or not to smile or frown. You don't have time to decide either, because a loud laugh suddenly draws your attention away. The laugh originates from Sierra; and to say the least, it is disturbing.

"Oh my god." She says shrilly as she wipes a tear from her eye. "I can't believe that you guys actually believed me. You should've seen your faces."

You, as well as everyone else, stares at her.

"Well, that's human ignorance for you! Darwinism will surely take its course!"

"You..." Kai grits his teeth as he glowers at her darkly. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Things are getting out of hand again.

| _Do something. _

But what?

| _Help somehow!_

Before Kai can make any moves, you find yourself stepping in between the man and the laughing woman. You place a hand on his shoulder and stare calmly into his eyes.

"Now isn't the time for this, Kai—

**Welcome, members of Group B, to Trial 5b. **

The loud voice booms out from nowhere again. Maya swallows a shriek and glares up at the corners of the the room as if _they_ are the source of the sound.

"It's that voice again!" Kai growls.

"Trial 5b?" Chocho's lips quiver.

"What is this?!" Kai shouts as he glares up at the ceiling. "Who are you?! Where are we?!"

**The goal of this trial is to move past the levels through completing your given objectives and reach the final level. After you reach the final level, you are allowed to leave.**

Everyone tenses.

**You are currently on level one. The door standing across from Room 3 leads to level two. **

"Oh." Sierra smirks. "This sounds like a game."

You look in the opposite direction of Room 3 and are surprised to find that there is in fact a door there. Unlike the others doors within the tight space, this door is silver. There is a bronze plate nailed to it that reads 'Level 2'.

| _Try the door._

You make way towards the door, but you are stopped by a hand that grabs at your wrist. You start and turn in surprise. Knives is looking at you with a blank expression. You raise an eyebrow at him.

"Wait."

You slowly nod, and he releases his grasp.

**Each of you has certain items in your possession: food, water, and formula.**

"We have water." You provide as you glance curiously at the others.

"There were packets of food in our room." Kai offers.

You, Maya, Kai, and Chocho turn to look at Sierra and Knives. Sierra shrugs half-heartedly while Knives glowers.

"Okay," you nod lightly at their reactions, "I'm going to assume that you have this 'formula' thing in your rooms."

"Maybe." Sierra purses her lips.

**In order to pass through to level two, you are required to have one of each item in your possession.**

Everyone freezes and exchanges looks of apprehension and distrust.

**Please do not attempt to leave the level without having completed your objective. If you do, you will be subjugated to an electrocution. I repeat. Please do not attempt to leave the level without having completed your objective. **

"What the..." Maya shakes her head. "This is so messed up."

**Trial 5b for Group B is commencing now. You will receive further objectives and directions as you pass through each level. **

**There are no rules. Violence is allowed.**

The atmosphere becomes chilled.

"Did you hear that?" Sierra whispers. "No rules."

You're blood runs cold when you register her expression. She looks ecstatic.

"That being said," she continues as she allows her gaze to sweep the room, "who is going to hand over their goods to me first?"

No one answers. The silence is deafening.

"Sierra..." You frown as you slowly raise your hands and shake your head. "Let's calm down and think about—

"Are you saying that I should pry the food and water from your cold, dead hands?"

You pause, look into her eyes, and slowly shake your head. _Please. No. We're all better than this. _

"Not before I pry that formula from _your_ dead hands!" Kai retorts as he glowers at her and pushes Chocho protectively behind him.

"Kai!" You shout warningly.

He ignores you and charges at Sierra. The full force of his tackle knocks her to the ground, and together they scramble and scuffle there.

A second later, you find yourself jumping into the pile as well and trying to pull the two apart from each other.

You're not sure who, but someone bites you and draws blood. Nonetheless, you continue trying to prevent Sierra from harming Kai and vice versa.

"Kitsune!" You hear Maya shout.

{"Come on, Tadashi!" Hiro whispered. "Think!"}

| _Do something!_

Do what?

_| Help somehow! Think!_

Six.

Six bottles.

"Wait!" You shout as you finally manage to pull the the man and woman apart. You pant, holding them at arms length away from each other. "Six… bottles… There are six water bottles."

"What does that have to do with anything?!" Kai seethes.

"Six bottles," you continue, "for the six of us."

Kai stares at you in confusion, while Sierra frowns at you in realization.

"Kai," Chocho whispers as he grabs onto the man's shoulder, "there were six food packets under my bed."

Kai freezes as realization dawns on him too.

"There was…" Knives speaks suddenly as he meets your eyes. "There were six cases labeled 'formula' in our room."

You blink at him in surprise, before you smile graciously at him. He visibly starts in surprise with a slight blush and then averts his eyes.

"Now we can all get out of here without smacking each other senseless." You sigh in relief.

"That's no fun…" Sierra murmurs.

{"Crazy chick…" Hiro grimaced. "I don't trust her. You shouldn't hang with her, 'Dashi!}

…

The food, formula, and water are quickly distributed. Soon, everyone has one of each item. And soon you all are gathered in front of the metal door labeled "Level 2". The door slides open causing everyone to start.

You hold up a hand and hesitantly — with the food packet, water bottle, and silver case that reads "formula" held tightly in your arms — step through the archway. Nothing happens save for a minute flashing that resonates from your band.

| _Observe. _

You look left and right and find that endless door-lined hallways span out in each direction. The doors are numbered with a familiar bronze.

"It's all clear, guys."

You blink as Maya and the others step out of the small room and out into the hall. Everyone except for Sierra then stares at you expectantly.

"What now?"

"We..." You murmur. "We should stick together. We'll have better chances that way."

**Congratulations. The participants Kitsune, Chocho, Tanuki, Kumo, Same, and Saru have made it to level two. **

"Great!" Maya throws her hands up in the air. "Can we leave now?"

**You are now to search for the level three door for Group B. **

"Great." Maya scowls.

"I don't want to do this anymore..." Chocho murmurs.

"Shut up..." Sierra mutters under her breath, causing you to frown at her.

**Please do not try to access the level three door for other groups. I repeat. Please do not try to access the level three door for other groups. You will be subjugated to electrocution if you attempt to access the level three door designation for groups other than Group B.**

"There are other groups…?" You frown and tap your chin thoughtfully.

Kai stares at you strangely, before his attention becomes captured elsewhere. With hands on hips, he shouts up to the ceiling: "How do we reach the next level door or whatever?"

**The level three door for Group B can be found through simple algebraic reasoning.**

"Algebra?" Maya sticks out her tongue in disgust. "Ew. Math."

**The first door you should enter is Door 2.**

Everyone glances warily at the numbered doors.

**From that door you must cube, find, and enter, and cube, find, and enter until you've passed through three doors and then you must take the square root, find, and enter. You will find your level three beyond that final door.**

"Does he mean door five?" Kai scratches his head.

{Hiro face-palmed.}

"Are you _stupid_?" Sierra laughs mockingly. "He said that we have to cube something, which means that we have cube the number on the door to find which door to enter next and then cube the number on that door…. And somewhere along the way we have to take the square root of the number. "

Kai glowers at her, but Chocho's light touch on his arm relaxes him.

"Does someone have a calculator?" Maya raises an eyebrow.

{"Ugh!" Hiro rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Your final door is gonna be Door 11,585, duh!"}

_| Think. Calculate._

"11, 585." You speak up suddenly as the numbers somehow fall into place in your head. "That'll be our final door." You nod firmly after saying this, but start after you realize everyone is staring at you.

{"I got the answer first, bro." Hiro grinned smugly.}

You blink at everyone in confusion: "... What?"

"Are you freakin' Einstein or something?" Maya gapes at you.

"I was initially going to leave you all in hopes of having better chances of surviving," Sierra draws coyly as she seems to look at you for the very first time, "but now I think I'm going to stick around…"

She receives distrustful looks.

"By the looks of it," you sigh, "we're going to have to do a lot of walking."

**Throughout the levels there are certain rooms that contain supplies — such as food and water and formula — and utilities for offensive and defensive purposes.**

"That's a relief."

"Utilities…?"

"For offensive and defensive purposes!" Sierra repeats with another smirk; she raises her index finger matter-of-factly and wiggles it in the air. "In other words: weapons!"

Your heart nearly stops at her cruel, sadistic expression.

* * *

[Day 5]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

You are eating the greatest sandwich that you have ever tasted in your life. That being said, this is the first sandwich that ever actually remember eating. _See_, you tell yourself again, _amnesia isn't so bad. You can try things for the first time all over again. _

It's so good that you almost forget that you and the others are trapped in a seemingly impossible maze.

You feel a stare and turn your head. Maya is squinting scrutinizingly at you with a hotdog hanging halfway in her mouth.

_| Tease her. _

"You know," you say after you swallow, "you're never going to get a date if you walk around looking like that."

Maya scowls intensely and squishes the rest of the hotdog into her mouth.

"That doesn't help either." You add with a smug smile.

Your smugness earns you a punch on the arm. You wince and frown. Then, you see her flushed expression, and you can't help but to laugh and ruffle her hair. You become surprised when she doesn't smack your hand away. You lower your hand and peer into her face concerned.

"What's wrong?"

"You know..." She murmurs as she studies your face. "You remind me a lot of my older sister."

"You have an older sister?" You ask in surprise.

"Yeah," Maya nods, toying with her hair again, "and I was thinking... Maybe you're an older brother or something, and you have a younger sibling."

A younger sibling, huh? You suppose that it could be possible, but...

"Hmm... I'm not too sure about that."

{Hiro clenched his fists, lowered his head, and bit his lips.}

You decide to try stapling the image of a little sister to yourself.

Imouto?

No. That doesn't seem right at all.

How about—

"O... Otouto?"

{Hiro's heart nearly stopped at the sound of the familiar address. He looked up and stared at the screen with wide eyes.}

"Otouto." You repeat as you can't help but smile. "Yeah, that sounds right..."

"'Otouto'?" Maya frowns in confusion.

"It means 'little brother' in Japanese." You explain.

Maya nods and then asks, "So you have a little brother then?"

"I guess I do." You laugh.

"Hm," Maya purses her lips, "well, you should survive this craziness so you can see him. I would be lying if I said that I think that he wouldn't be happy to see you."

"Same goes for you, Maya." You nod seriously at her.

She nods back and licks her fingertips in search of leftover hot dog residue. You smile lightly at the action. And you smile lightly at the fact that you now maybe know a little more about yourself.

"Otouto." You repeat firmly and consideringly (and proudly?).

{"Yeah, Nii-san." Hiro murmured with a strained smile. "I'm here..."}

* * *

[Day 3]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

You come across something disturbing. The sight of it makes you sick to your stomach.

Turning down one of the many corners of the building, you and the others almost come nose to nose with another group. At first you are relieved and happy to see that your group is not the only one wandering this maze. You are so happy that you almost run to them and shout. Almost. Knives draws you back behind the corner before you can do anything.

"Are you sure you want to be friends with them." He asks you in that strange deadpan of his; he points with his free hand towards the group of people. "Look."

| _Look_.

Peeking down the corner, you come to realize that the group of people you thought were friendly aren't so friendly after all. They don't even appear to be friendly to each other. There are four people in the group in all. Two adolescents and a man and a woman. The man and the woman are cowering on the ground, while the adolescents stand above them and repeatedly kick them.

No. This isn't right.

You start towards them when a hand suddenly grabs you and pulls you backwards.

"What are you doing." Knives glowers at you. "Don't get involved."

You look at him, search his face, and then look back at the man and the woman.

"Someone…" You shake your head and tug your hand free. "Someone has to help!"

You charge forward and shout loudly.

{"Tadashi…" Hiro scowled, before his expression became pained again. "You idiot…"}

Fortunately, the fact that you are running and screaming like a mad man seems to frighten and startle the adolescent; and the duo run off in the opposite direction. You help the man and the woman to their feet as the others emerge from around the corner. After you are sorely chastised by Maya, you and the others discover that the man and the woman are related. They are siblings. It's surprising. According to them, they had both been caught up in a car accident before they had awoken in a white room with each other.

Maya lowers her eyes at the mention of siblings; and for some reason, you do too.

The siblings tell you that they are from Group C and that there are only three members left, including themselves, of that group. They say that the third member of the group who is still alive is dangerous. According to them, she wears a white band that reads 'Neko'.

_Impossible_, you think. _There's no way that people have actually killed each other here!_

After a lengthy discussion and a quick farewell, you and your group part ways with the siblings.

* * *

[Day 15]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

**To pass on to the next level, you are required to eliminate one participant and to take their assigned bracelet. **

A pang strikes your heart when you realize that no one looks surprised. Most of them look defeated.

"There has to be another way..." You murmur.

Maya lowers her eyes. Kai exchanges a look with Chocho. Knives looks at you with saddened eyes. Sierra's bored expression flickers with a flame of interest.

"There's always another way." You nod firmly.

{"You tell 'em, bro." Hiro murmured as he bit his lower lip. "You tell 'em…"}

* * *

[Day 4]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

You find the level three door on this day. You can't believe that it has taken this long for you to get to this point. Actually, you aren't sure whether or not it's actually been that long. There is no time in this place apparently. No windows to see daylight or sundown. Not even a clock. The only reason you think it's been long is because you've taken three naps since you've left your initial starting point. You promise yourself to make a complaint to maintenance about this fact — once you do find maintenance, that is. _If_ there's a maintenance.

**To pass on to the next level, you are required to take a dosage of the formula you received on level one. Multiple syringes have been provided for you. **

{"Don't do it, Tadashi!" Hiro shook his head fiercely as he squinted at the screen. "Don't do it!"}

You volunteer to take the formula first.

{"Damnit, Tadashi!" Hiro scowled.}

That way, the others will know whether or not it has any side-effects. (You just hope that whatever this formula is none of the others' bodies will reject it.) Surprisingly, other than the short spike in energy that ripples through your body, nothing happens.

You and the others pass on to level three.

* * *

[Day 2]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

You have your first real conversation with Chocho on this day.

You and the others find an empty room and decide to take a break and rest for a while. You find yourself watching as everyone else besides you begins to doze off. You are tired, but you can't force yourself to sleep. Maybe you are an insomniac.

It takes you a while to realize that Chocho has yet to doze off and may very well be an insomniac as well. She sits in the corner of the room — close to Kai but as far away from the rest of you as possible. Her pale knees are tucked beneath her chin; and her gaze is glued to the floor.

| _Talk to her._

You rise from where you are seated — careful as to not disturb Maya who is sleeping soundly beside you — and approach her slowly.

"Hey." You nod at her quietly.

She flinches and draws back.

Your bright expression falters for a moment, but you manage to pull it back up. You stop several feet away from her and tilt your head:

"Can't sleep?"

She blinks, looks up at you, and then slowly shakes her head. She then scooches to the side and gives you space to sit.

"Neither can I." You sigh and slide down beside her. "Not sure if it's because Sierra over there is snoring so loud or if it's because I'm anxious."

She smiles thinly in response.

There is a pause of silence.

"Kai mentioned earlier that you're like me." You finally say as you rub the back of your neck. "That you can't remember anything eithe—

"I do remember!" She whispers harshly with an angry glint in her eye. When she sees your startled expression, she lowers her gaze and furrows her eyebrows. "I do remember... _some _things."

You study her carefully. Her gaze seems far off.

"What do you remember?" You ask her quietly.

"High places..." She replies dreamily. "I remember that I love high places. Climbing up trees and standing on the roof's of skyscraper...looking down on everything..."

"Sounds dangerous." You laugh. "I didn't take you for the type."

"It's not dangerous." She murmurs. "It's beautiful..."

Your eyes soften at her entrancement.

"Maybe once we get out of here you can take me to your favorite skyscraper and we can people watch together."

She nods and smiles faintly.

* * *

[Day 17]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

You are all still posted out in front of the level six door for Group B.

While scavenging for supplies in the many rooms that line the hall, you and Knives come across the stench of death.

A man is lying strewn out on his stomach across the floor in front of a black door. You know as soon as you lay your eyes on him that the man is dead. Beaten and murdered. (You have seen these types of things too many times before.) Despite this fact, you walk towards him with a blank expression.

"What are you doing." Knives questions from behind you.

"Giving him some respect." You answer as you hold your breath and bend down next to the corpse.

"Why." Knives blinks at you with a frown. "He's dead."

"Still…" You murmur as you grunt and flip the man over onto his back. The man's eyes are open, empty, and staring. You move to close them with lowered eyes. "I can't just leave him like this."

"What's gone is gone." Knives deadpans as he crosses his arms. "We should go."

You frown as you fold the man's hands over his chest.

"What's gone is gone." You agree as you stare at the man's pale face. "But… you've gotta ask yourself… 'what remains'?"

"You stole that line from One Piece." Knives deadpans again, looking unimpressed.

"Maybe." You laugh dissonantly (You're not even sure what that is. One piece of what?). "But it fits this situation, doesn't it? This man… he probably has family or friends who are out there worrying about him. They're still out there, but _we're_ in here. Someone should give him a proper send off for them. I'm sure that they would appreciate it."

There is silence. You can feel Knives's stare prickle your skin.

"I hope you realize that sentiment is a fatal flaw in this world," is all he says to you. But his eyes never leave your skin.

* * *

[Day 5]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

Kai falls ill on this day. Kai blames it on a weak stomach and lack of sleep, but you know better. You know that the formula is the cause of this. His body is rejecting it.

You convince the others to rest for this day.

**To move onto the next level, you must find another case of formula located on this level, find your group's level door, and inject the formula. **

Your heart falls as your realize that the injection will most likely be a constant requirement to pass on to the next levels.

"He's weak." You hear Sierra mutter. "Weaker than Chocho... " She clicks her tongue. "_Pathetic_. Weak people irritate me."

* * *

[Day 12]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

You and the others lose a significant amount of your supplies this day. While preparing to doze off beside Maya in a secluded and "secure" room that you yourself have chosen, you think you see the door to the room creak open. You start and blink and stare at the door, but you see nothing.

You begin to doze off again.

And then, there is a shout.

You start in surprise. You force your eyes open. You squint into the darkness.

A silhouette (which you assume belongs to Sierra) is floundering around in the darkness. Well, she is not floundering herself per say. She is pinning someone down on the floor and is forcing that person to flounder.

| _Turn on the lights!_

You immediately hit the switch behind you, and the room floods with light in turn. Maya scrambles to a stand beside you. She gapes when she registers the scene that unfolds before her in the brightness.

Sierra has a large man pinned down beneath her. They are wrestling in the corner of the room by the pile of food and supplies that you have stacked up. It's evident that Sierra has the upper hand and that she is fully enjoying her superiority. She manages to land several punches on the thief before you and Kai pull her away.

{Hiro's eyes widened as he came to identify the thief. "You have got to be kidding me…"}

The defeated man scrambles back up against the wall behind him. His gaze continuously flickers from Sierra's face to the bountiful supplies that lay in the corner. She attempts to make way for him again, but you hold him back.

"I don't understand the restraints." Sierra sighs with a faltering smirk; she gestures towards the spilt water bottles that roll around in puddles on the floor. "We're slightly more dead because of him."

You frown and stare at the man. The white band around his wrist catches your eye. It reads 'Usagi'.

"She's right." Knives says dully from beside you. "He's created... complications for us."

Kai growls under his breath and picks up one of the spilt water bottles. It's empty. He crushes it in his hands and chucks it at the man's head. There's a soft echoing clack as the crumpled bottle hits the man's head and clatters to the ground. You, Maya, and Chocho wince as does the man.

"I hate complications." Kai finishes, cracking his fingers.

His expression is terrifying.

"Huh?" Sierra's lips curl up as she bends down and peers curiously into the thief's — Usagi's — face. "Did you hear him? You're a complication; he hates complications; and do you know what humans do to the things that they hate?"

The man stares at her with steady eyes, steady eyes that cause her lips to curl up even more.

"They eliminate them!" She finishes.

"Hey, wait!" Maya shouts. "This is crazy! You're not suggesting that we kill him, are you?"

"What?" Sierra draws in condescending tone and turns with a raised eyebrow; she is still smiling. "Don't tell me you're bringing moral ambiguity into this." She suddenly reaches out at the man, grabs a fistful of his hair, and forces him closer to her; she points at him with her free hand. "This guy wasted our water supply! We don't even know if there's anymore water left on this level!"

This is getting bad again.

| _Intervene_.

"Look." You say firmly as you gaze softly at the wincing man. "It's my fault. I should have been keeping watch…" You pause, thinking. "That was my fair share of water, so I just won't drink anything until we find water on the next level. That settles the water problem doesn't it?"

Sierra's eyes widen and her lips turn downwards. Usagi who is staring at you with an expression of disbelief is released from her grasps. You approach the door, crack it open, and gesture at it with your free hand.

"Please leave." You say in a low voice to the man. When you realize that he is frozen in place, you repeat you request in a firmer voice and add: "Now."

Usagi hops to his feet almost immediately. A second later he is walking past you and out of the door. You hear him mumble something under his breath as he quickly passes you by. Is he calling you a fool? Saying that you have given him hope? Ridiculing you? Thanking you?

You never find out.

* * *

[Day 21]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

This is the day when you realize that the world is cruel.

This is the day when you realize that you don't understand anything at all.

This is the day when a Fox demon swallows up your heart.

This is the day when you kill someone for the first time in your life.

This is the day when |Tadashi Hamada| ceases to exist.

* * *

[Day 10]

| Maintenance Viewing Room |

"Oh, this one here is one of the most promising ones. He's even more promising than you were, Tako!"

"Ah, you are making me envious, Doctor Rank."

"I'm quiet serious though, Tako. Although his physical profile is average, his psychological profile is exceptional — not to mention his intelligence! Outstanding! His resilience to the proto-formula is almost unbelievable! He is definitely going to be a successful participant for sure! He and Neko are by far the most promising.."

"Hm? Well, that will certainly make the boss proud. He might even promote you, you know?"

"That's what I'm hoping for!"

"Hm… What's his codename?"

"Kitsune. Why?"

"Has he eliminated anyone yet?"

"None so far. He has managed to guide Group B through to level five without any casualties."

"... Not for long."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Enjoy your day, Doctor Rank."

* * *

**A/N**: Ack… Running low on motivation... Stress in school. Etc. Splitting into two chapters. WAaaay too long again. Jesus. I haven't even reached the tragic part yet. Chapter this Sunday? Maybe? /dies.

Anyways, I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing... And I hope you guys caught onto the personality quirk things.

(Side-note: Goddammnit, Tadashi was too pure for this world /sobs.)

Thanks to all those who read, followed, and favorited!

A big bunch of flowers, love, and kisses to —

bukulay: Yaas.

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Cross your fingers, my friend! It's going to get worse before it gets better!

Sabeloid: Your excitement is so contagious, damnit xD. You're making me smile. Here's part one of the reveal for you! /rolls around on the floor with you.

eliwats22: Hmmm… We'll see. Thanks for the compliment!

Darkx143: Aw, thanks xD. I really appreciate your message too, btw! And yes, that was a beautiful scene indeed!

skydancerfyremagyk: Many thanks for the virtual kitten, friend! It's absolutely adorable! I can't tell you anything about Tadashi and Hiro's future bonding moments, because it'll totally spoil the story - but! I will warn you: prepare for the feelies.

Avatar4ever: ; n ; I love all my readers! (but I'm a bit sadistic, so I dunno…)

Silverblueroses: Yup, I kind of posted them two days apart so that may be why xD. I'm glad you enjoyed the references! I'm an anime weaboo among other things, so there's probably going to be an embarrassing amount of references in this fic… The main reason why Tadashi smokes will be revealed in the next chapter v-v.

GalacticTrooper954: Thanks! And yes, prepare for the feels.

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Many thanks, friend! o u o

hy0rinlove: Oh my gosh! I hope your doing better, friend! It's okay if you aren't able to review; your health is way more important! And I'm sorry for the feels! The brothers really do deserve a happy ending though… v-v. Poor, poor Hitsuji indeed ;c. I can feel your burning hate for Tako from all the way over here xD. And have faith in Tadashi, my friend! Many thanks for the compliments! (Btw, I totally understand what you're talking about with Gogo xDD; and I can actually see Hiro and Hebi as frenemies too tbh.)

TadashiFan: Many thanks! And… well, you may or may not have predicted what will occur in the future. And your English is perfectly fine!

Producciones Escudo: We'll see, we'll see… c;

Random Reader 17: Yup! Behind Taka and Fred, Gogo and Neko get along the most well! I hope you enjoyed the first part of the origin story!

Ethian V: Yes, yes he does! It will all be explained in the next chapter…

teengens: Many thanks, friend! I hope you are ready for the feels! (I like your profile pic btw xD)

Anon: Not really… It honestly depends on how you look at it though. Hmm… xD. Take it as you like it!

D3213: Aw, thanks! c; You have no idea how happy it makes me when I see people say that they love my writing o u o. /hugs!

MangaMan9000: Aw crap - your reviews are so amazing and I appreciate them so much… I can't put my appreciation into words o u o. Anyways… Tako is quite the crafty character, so you'll never know… I'm glad that your loving Taka more! He'll have his more serious moments in time! (Now I can't get the image of him and Fred nonchalantly taking down bad guys and discussing comics and films xD. That's just too perfect.) Ah, I see what you're trying to say regarding the OCs; I didn't really think of it that way tbh, sorrry v-v. I completely agree with the Hiba and Hibana thing (it's a shame that the DW anime didn't do her much justice…). And I can see the similarities between Neko and Bayonetta! I actually kind of want to try those games out, tbh. I agree with the Tyrell Badd comparison as well! Wow, you're quite skilled at finding similarities xD. You're spot on with the Adrian Andrews thing too from what I can see. (One of my friends is the Phoenix Wright series; and I smiled a bit when you mentioned it, tbh.) Ookami is definitely going to flip tables once she realizes what's happened (/cough: a plot point for later). I'm glad you're enjoying Tadashi's turmoil and his relationship with Hiro! The smoking thing will be slightly alluded to in the next chapter. Once again, thank you so much for your wonderful review! I just… /hugs tightly. Many thanks! Have a nice day, friend!

Fujhi poudes-Escapa non: Thank you for your compliments! And you are right about TadaKit's attitude towards Hitsuji. /nodnod. Tako is.. Hm… He does have his reasons. Thanks for your motivational words! They really helped! I'm going to start on Convergence Theory once I finish this story probably. As for Hiro's reaction the the promise… I can't tell you anything without spoiling it. Many thanks once again! You have a nice day too!

sykrim423rose: First off, I'm going to thank you for reviewing all of the chapters that you've missed. I really appreciate your input on every single chapter! And the wi-fi thing really sucks. I'm sorry, friend. v-v. Eek, you're killing me with the compliments! You are way too nice! o u o. Really though! You're making my blush… I just… can't. Of course, we can be friends, friend! ;D

freebird4: Many thanks o u o!

Little. Ruky: Thank you much o w o! (Tadashi, come back! TT -TT). Well, I'm glad that you found my fic here, and I'm glad that you're enjoying it!

Shoyzz: Thank you much o u o. Here's an update for you!

\- for reviewing!


	14. White Recollection ( II )

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Fourteenth Encounter_: Shiro Kaisō (白回想), Nii

∟"White Recollection ( II )"

* * *

[Day 25]

Trial: 5b

You don't understand anything.

You don't understand.

What are you feeling now?

The woman who is trembling beneath you — what are you feeling as you press the blade to her neck?

You aren't sad.

Knives would never feel sad in a situation like this.

You aren't scared.

Kai would never feel scared if he had the upper hand like this.

You aren't mad.

Chocho would never get mad, period.

So, if you are none of these, what are you?

Ah, that's right.

Sierra would be absolutely ecstatic if she was in a situation like this, so that means that you too must be happy.

You _are_ happy.

You smirk as you draw a line of leaking crimson across the woman's neck.

{Hiro swallowed the lump in his throat as he registered his brother's smiling expression.

Was he... really enjoying... _killing_ people?

"Enough already..."}

* * *

[Day 13]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

"Why do you care about others so much?"

Sierra asks you this question as she does a handstand. Her auburn hair mops the ground and resembles a drawn curtain of red. The color clashes with the white tiled floor.

You are currently doing inventory and answer her without much thought: "I'd say instinct."

"Instinct?" She repeats with a smile that looks like frown from where you're standing. "It can't be instinct. A human's instinct is to preserve one's own life."

{"Well," Hiro drew dryly (his mind was still lingering on Tadashi's cruel smile), "aren't you a ray of sunshine?"}

"What about paternal instinct?" You ask her matter-of-factly as you check the case that contains your group's formula out of nervous habit.

"Paternal instinct is something that's driven by something that's ingrained in a homosapien's — or any animal's or living organism's — DNA." Sierra replies as she does a backflip and returns to a handstand. "Parents just want to preserve their own gene pool via their kids so that their race can keep on surviving."

You stare at her warily.

"Sounds like you've done some reading on the selfish gene theory." You smile thinly with a laugh.

"Not really." Sierra grunts, turning on her hands to face you. "It's simple observation."

"The understanding of genetic theories can be achieved by simple observation?" You raise an eyebrow at her with a sly smile.

"No, the understanding of human behavior can be." She sighs, completing another back-flip and resuming her hand-stand. "What I'm saying is that your altruism is divergent of human nature." She does a front-flip, crouches, and blinks at you. "You're an anomaly. You're weird."

"Oh, right," you roll your eyes, "_I'm_ the weird one."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"What?" You frown curiously.

"That while you care so much about everyone, no one cares about you." Sierra finishes with a smirk as she taps her chin lightly.

{"What?" Hiro scowled indignantly and angrily. "Don't you dare say that, you hag! I care about Tadashi! Aunt Cass cares about Tadashi! His friends care about him! Go jump in a black hole!"}

You stare at her for a long moment before you chuckle softly. Her smirk turns downwards into a frown.

"_What_?" She grimaces.

"I-I'm not making fun of you or anything." You reassure her. "It's just that I've never thought of it that way before."

She raises an inquiring eyebrow.

"If people need me, then I'm there for them." You explain. "So maybe, since I'm there for them, they'll be there... for other people." You tap your temple and shrug. "At least that's what I think my philosophy is... was...?" You pause and smile half-heartedly. "I'm still trying to work things out with this entire amnesia thing."

"Amnesia..." Sierra sighs. "Maybe that's why you're an anomaly. You're amnesia makes you ignorant. And ignorance is bliss."

{"Says the ignorant neophyte." Hiro replied bitingly; he glared and nodded at the image of Tadashi. "Come on, stand up to her!"}

"You don't have many friends, do you?" You ask her jokingly and bitingly.

"You know," she continues, evidently ignoring your previous rhetoric, "I bet you're one of those guys who would put his life on the line to save _one_ person from a burning building."

{Hiro opened his mouth and then closed it.}

"There's nothing wrong with that." You reply as you open the formula case again. "A life is an important thing."

"Over a hundred people die a minute." Sierra says smoothly; she looks at you straight in the eye before she continues. "Are human lives really that important if they disappear so easily? Is one life more important than the other?" She laughs suddenly and claps her hands. "Of course. In my mind, my life is more important than all others!"

"Isn't this getting very philosophical and morbid?" You ask with a tight smile.

"It's getting realistic." Sierra smiles plainly back at you.

{"It's getting stupid." Hiro retorted.}

You stare at her again, unsure of how to respond.

"Don't look at me like that." Sierra pouts. "I'm just giving you some advice, kid. Don't expect too much from humans or this world, because both are absolute trash and will never change. Intangible things like morals aren't concrete. They're just ideals and opinions."

* * *

[Day 7]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

While searching a room for supplies with Kai, the both of you find a surplus of miscellaneous items. Glass cups, spoons, duct tape, rope, matches, a couple boxes of cigarettes…. and an assortment of knives. All items, both docile and dangerous, are strewn out on a white table at the center of the room.

"Bingo!" Kai grins as he reaches for an object on the table.

You, for some reason, find yourself tensing as he does this. You relax, however, when you see him reach for the box of matches and the box of cigarettes. Said relaxedness gets thrown out of the window once you see Kai take a cigarette out of the box, light its tip with a match, and insert it in his mouth.

"You smoke?" You raise an eyebrow at him.

"It's better than nothing." Kai shrugs.

{Hiro frowned. He had begun drawn parallels between Tadashi's 'friends' and his current behavior, but this interaction was almost too revealing. And dread began to build up in his stomach.}

"You do know that lung cancer and smoking are directly related, right?"

"Yeah," Kai shrugs, "but meh."

He offers you one, but you politely decline.

* * *

[Day 18]

Trial: 5b

Group: B

You are beginning to get nervous. Kai is getting more irritable by the day, Chocho more hopeless and depressed, and Sierra more dissatisfied.

"I'm getting tired of this…" Maya mumbles to you while the two of you are eating two thin slices of bread at your 'home base'.

"You should take a nap then." You grin at her cheekily and jokingly. When you see her expression, however, your own expression shatters.

"I'm serious…" Maya says with lowered eyes. "Chocho… Yesterday, Chocho was… She was talking about ending it all."

Your heart nearly stops. And before you can stop yourself, you are rising from the cardboard box you are sitting on and swiveling your head around madly in search of Chocho. Before you can call the woman or go search for her, however, Maya grabs your wrist and pulls you back down. You blink at her in surprise, but her head is lowered so you can't meet her gaze.

"... the goal for the next level." Maya murmurs. "If Chocho dies because we don't help her… one of us will be able to pass onto the next level."

Your eyes widen.

"Knives and I were talking…" Maya continues. "And we both agreed that of all people you deserve to get out of here aliv—-

You get on your knees and grab onto her shoulders. You peer into her face and see her blank expression.

It hurts.

"Don't…" You say in barely a whisper as your vision begins to blur. "Don't talk like that… Please." You swallow and lower your gaze, gripping her shoulders tightly, before you continue: "All of you… All of you deserve to survive and live through this. All of you deserve to live, alright?"

{Hiro watched as Maya's eyes widened. He lowered his own eyes when he saw her bite her lip in frustration.}

Before you can say anything further, the door to the room suddenly bursts open and a breathless Kai stumbles in. You shoot up to a stand immediately and stride over to him.

"Kai, what's wrong?" You ask with a frown as you touch his shoulder lightly.

"Another… group…" He explains through pants. "Encountered… Knives… and…. Sierra… Confronting…. Chocho…. Hiding..."

Your eyes widen, and you shake Kai.

"Take me there now."

Kai leads you through a maze of hallways. At first, all you can hear is the tapping of your footsteps; but, slowly and surely, shouting and scuffling soon reach your ears. You and Kai turn a corner and burst into a wide and spacious room.

"Sierra!" You shout. "Knives!"

The two of them are back-to-back and are encircled in a ring of white-clad men who are holding an assortment of weapons — knives, bats, pipes, and other pointy objects. It doesn't take you long to realize that you are in deep trouble.

You flinch as the ring of people turn their gazes on you. You raise your hands signaling you mean no harm and step in front of Kai. You prepare to signal for him to go back to the base before you register the fact that Maya is standing in the doorway of the hall. The very sight of her makes you pause altogether. She waves at you when she feels your gaze. Your eyes widen in disbelief, and you resist facepalming.

It's too dangerous for an adolescent like her to be here.

This is going to be bad.

"Who's your leader?" You ask the circle of white calmly as you allow your gaze to sweep across them.

"That would be me." One of the men says as he steps forward. "I'm Ron."

You study him carefully. He appears to be middle-aged and physically fit. Authority and confidence radiates from him like light from the sun. A knife dangles in his loose fingertips. Dangerous.

"Look," You say slowly, taking another step forward, "there seems to be a misunderstanding of some kind—"

"There's no misunderstanding." Ron smiles at you. "You see… We've had to kill several members of our gang in order to pass on to the next level."

Your heart stops. An indescribable emotion flares up in your chest in place of its beating.

"But now," Ron sighs sadly, "our ranks are emptier than we'd like them to be." He gestures towards Knives and Sierra — Sierra in particular. "So, we were thinking of recruiting one or two people on this level."

"Oh?" Sierra smirks. "Was that all this was?"

You make eye contact with her and rigidly shake your head. _Don't do anything rash, Sierra._

"_Sierra…_" Knives says warningly under his breath.

A laugh escapes from her mouth, and it earns her the attention of all those within the room. Her action nearly warrants a facepalm from you.

"That's hilarious." Sierra continues to smirk as she gazes at Ron like he's an insect. "You are such an insignificant and depraved man."

Her remark cuts the thin atmosphere in two.

Your eyes flicker to Ron's form; and they widen as you register the fact that he is absolutely seething with anger. He turns towards the still smirking Sierra and approaches her with stomping feet. The crowd of white parts for him as he does so.

{"That girl must have death wish or something!" Hiro grimaced as he registered the woman's growing smirk.}

| _Do something! Help somehow!_

"Wait!" You say before you can stop yourself. You step forward and raise your hands higher above your head. "Leave them alone. I'll come with you. Without resistance."

{"Tadashi!" Hiro seethed in disbelief.}

"Kitsune!" Knives and Maya seeth in unison.

Ron pauses in his hunt and turns his head in your direction. Something flickers in his gaze. Something dangerous.

"Alright." He grins after a pause. "That sounds like a good deal."

The circle of white surrounding Knives and Sierra back away as you approach Ron. Knives makes a grab for your hand, but you pull back, smile, and shake your head. His eyes widen and his hand lowers.

"Kitsune!" Maya screeches as she charges forward. "Kitsune, get back here this instant!"

Kai sweeps her up in his large arms and holds her back. He can barely contain her angry shakes, kicks, and punches. In fact, he nearly releases her when he registers her tearful and pained expression. Salty wetness streams down from both her eyes and her nose.

"Y'know," you laugh jokingly at her, "that isn't very attractive at all. You're never going to get a date like that."

"_Kitsune…_" Maya repeats quietly, desperately; she sinks to her knees. "Don't go… _please_."

"You make it sound like I'm going to be gone forever." You sigh melodramatically. "And we all know that that isn't true."

"...Liar." Maya mumbles, lowering her eyes.

You smile at her sadly and look away from her before her expression causes you to change your mind. You then find yourself staring at a not-so-indifferent Knives. He is looking at you like you are vanishing right before his eyes.

"Look after them for me, will you?" You ask him quietly.

He lowers his gaze and nods rigidly.

Before you can say anything else, Ron grabs you by the arm and pulls you forward. He drags you by the arm out of the room and into a winding hallway. It takes every ounce of your ability not to look backwards.

* * *

[Day 19]

Trial: 5b

Group: C &amp; D

{Hiro stared at the new scene that had just flickered to life before him.

"Wha…?"

His brother was sitting at the center of a white room on a wooden chair — no, he was bound to it by thick chains. His arms were also chained down to the arms of the chair. And he was shirtless. Deep cuts, sweltering scrapes, and dark bruises littered his body and face.

"What…?" Hiro shook his head in confusion.

It was evident that he was unconscious. Suddenly, however, a man — Ron, was it? — holding a bucket of water approached his prostrate form and dumped the water over his head.}

You gasp as cold iceness draws you out from the darkness. You blink rapidly in confusion and wince as bright light floods your vision.

Where are you?

In a white room.

What's going on?

You are tied to a chair.

Oh, that's right.

You are trapped.

You tug hopelessly against your bindings.

No good.

"We've barely even done anything to you yet, and you pass out already!" comes a sigh.

Your entire body immediately begins shaking at the voice.

It's Ron.

{Hiro stared in utter confusion at Tadashi's terrified expression. He had never seen his brother look so horrified and scared in his life.

What exactly was…?

Hiro's entire body went cold.

It couldn't be…}

"Hm."

You peer out of the corner of your eye and see Ron rummaging for something in the corner of the room.

"W-Why are you doing this?" You stutter. "I… I thought you wanted…. a new… recruit."

"I already told you." Ron rolls his eyes. "That was a lie. My group and I just wanted a new… artistic outlet, per say. All our old ones died away just like that…."

{"No…" Hiro shook his head stiffly. He didn't want to see this. He didn't…}

"I originally wanted that cheeky woman." Ron continues, still rummaging for something in the corner of the room. "But then you just upped and volunteered!" He pauses and laughs. "This entire situation gives all of us a wonderful opportunity to do things that we were never allowed to do in the real world! Like kill and torture! Isn't this great?!"

Your trembles increase as he enters your frontal vision. He smiles at your shivers and holds up an assortment of objects for you to see. Ten syringes filled to the brim with clear, blue liquid.

"This formula…" Ron draws out as he holds one of the syringes in the air. "Why do you think they want us to take it for? What are its side-effects?"

{"S… Stop…" Hiro said in barely a whisper with widened eyes. He shook his head slowly. "Stop…"}

"Is it like heroin?" Ron asks nobody in particular. "Will you overdose if you take too much of it?"

"You don't have to this…" You say, shaking your head. "You're better than this!"

"Let's try it out!" Ron sings chirpily, ignoring your comment. He bends down next to you, grabs your arm, and holds it steady.

You watch in terror as he inserts the needle of the syringe into your forearm.

"Don't be so tense." He sighs as he presses the plunger of the syringe downwards. "The needle will get stuck if you do."

You can feel the formula entering your bloodstream, and you find yourself shivering at the sudden surge of energy that ricochets through your body. The throbbing pain in your body dulls at this surge; but it doesn't last.

You watch in dull confusion as Ron rips the syringe out of your arm and stabs it into your hand. You can feel it pierce one side of your skin and break through to the other other side. The pain follows seconds later.

"One." Ron says testily.

You scream as the burning sensation eats away at your palm. Before your scream even dies away, Ron stabs another syringe into your arm. He digs the syringe around there in an attempt to find a vein, before he smacks the plunger down once more.

Another shiver ricochets down your spine.

He rips out the syringe again and stabs it down onto another part of your hand.

Pain. Again. It's a searing pain.

You are torn between the chilling shivers in your spine and the searing pain erupting from your hand. You scream, sob, shout for him to stop.

"Two."

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

Numbing chills. Searing pain.

You scream again. Actually, you haven't stopped screaming since he did did the first injection

{"Stop it!" Hiro cried as he punched and smacked the screen. "Stop it! Get the hell away from him! Get away from my brother!"

He knew that he was being irrational. He knew that his shouts and actions could do nothing to stop the man. What was happening was set in stone. But still. He couldn't just…

"STOP!"}

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

Frigidness. Scalding Heat.

"Three."

{"STOP!" Hiro screamed as he pounded on the screen with his fists. "Stop! Please!"}

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab

Pain. Pain. Pain.

Cold? Hot?

Why?

"Four."

You still haven't stopped screaming.

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

You can't even think straight anymore. Are you really feeling pain? Is any of this real? It hurts so much you can't… think.

"Five."

{"Get off of him!" Hiro cried in hysterics as he punched the screen once more. "You bastard! I'll end you!"}

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

You feel your entire body begin to shake uncontrollably. Convulsions? Maybe? Pain? It hurts.

Is that your hand? Is that your arm?

Both look completely unrecognizable to you now.

"Six."

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

Your voice has gone hoarse. Your throat is raw, but you're still trying to scream because it hurts so, so, so, so much.

The coldness like death. The heat. It just.

… You... You want to die. You'd rather die than go through any of this anymore.

{"Stop it…." Hiro rasped hoarsely as he sank to his knees and stared helplessly at the screen. "Enough… Stop…"}

"Don't faint on my now!" Ron growls as he grabs your chin and pulls your head forward. "If you faint on me, I will go out there and murder all of your friends!"

"N-no…" You say through a haze of sweat and tears.

"Alright then." He grins.

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

"Seven."

| _Think about Maya._

{"Stop…." Hiro shouted once more, squeezing his eyes shut and covering his ears. Hot tears spilled from his eyes and dribbled down his shaking chin.}

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

"Eight."

| _Think about Knives._

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

"Nine."

| _Think about Chocho and Kai._

Stab. Inject. Remove. Stab.

"Ten."

| _Think about Sierra._

"Good boy." Ron grins as he reaches over and ruffles your hair. "You're still alive!"

You're entire body is shaking with convulsions now. You aren't even sure if he has stopped injecting the formula into you yet. Maybe you've just fainted because of the pain.

"I think that we'll increase the dosage to fifteen tomorrow." You hear Ron say. "And do some things with knives, tasers, and your fingernails too. Did you know? The fingertips are one of the most sensitive parts of the body. Well, I'll be back in an hour or so… I'll send someone in to treat your wounds..."

His voice fades away. You are vaguely aware of the sound of door opening and closing.

Is he gone?

{Hiro shakily uncovered his ears and opened his stinging eyes. He hesitantly raised his gaze upwards towards the screen and came to a shaky stand.

There Tadashi sat unmoving on the chair. His right arm was ravaged and coated with thick ribbons of crimson. His entire body was shaking uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry…" Hiro shook his head with tear-filled eyes. "I'm sorry, 'Dashi, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry…"}

"Oh, poor Kitsune, look at this. Look at where your ignorant kindness has gotten you. How pathetic."

You start at the sudden voice. Where did it come from? Was that Sierra?

It takes you several long minutes to think through the pain and to realize that _you_ are the one who said the phrase. It takes you another several long minutes to realize that you are smirking.

{Hiro stared at his brother's smirking expression in shock and horror.

"No… come on, Nii-san, be strong… Please…"}

* * *

[Day 21]

Trial: 5b

Group: D &amp; E

You no longer have any fingernails.

You can't feel your right arm or hand anymore.

There is no place on your body where you do not hurt.

Your voice is so raw that you can barely speak in a whisper.

{Hiro shook his head. Tadashi was still _here_?

His eyes flickered up to the date blinking on the screen. The twenty-first day? His brother had been like this for _three_ days?

His eyes prickled with tears again.

No… Those _bastards_ would pay.

He clenched his shaking fists.}

"Seventeen."

Ron removes the needle from your arm and discards it the floor. He draws out the taser again (you personally prefer the taser to the knife, the welded iron, and the whip), flicks it on, and presses it against your chest.

Your entire body jumps up and down. And you feel the pain… but… at the same time… it's like you're not really there. You are… pathetic.

Pathetic.

Pathetic.

Pathetic.

_Disgusting_.

"Enough." You whisper.

Your heart suddenly beats faster and faster until it drowns out all other sounds in your ears. The energy spikes that have been forced onto you suddenly rise and join together.

"What?" Ron raises an eyebrow at you as he lowers the taser.

"Enough." You repeat and raise your head. You tug at your chains.

You watch as Ron begins to smirk.

You had thought that he was better than this.

You were wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

Wrong.

You were wrong about everything which means that you don't understand anything at all.

You watch as the man's smirk falters as your tugging snaps the chains that bind you in two.

"What the…." He shakes his head and steps back.

He's so _slow_.

You are on him in an instant, grabbing him by the scruff and throwing him against the wall. You watch as he shakingly slides to the floor. Before he can even try to come to a stand, you are on him again, pinning him up against the wall with your left hand. You squeeze his thick neck and stare into his eyes.

_Disgusting_.

{Hiro froze wide-eyed. He shook his head. Was this…. the emergence of Kitsune? He didn't want to see this. }

You watch as his face becomes red. He is choking. Choking. Feeling pain. He… deserves… No. He doesn't.

You let out a shaky sigh and drop the man to the floor. You stare at him indifferently as he coughs and gags.

"I pity you…" You murmur.

{Hiro let out a sigh of relief. He was relieved. The man that he was watching on the screen right now was still Tadashi.

He allowed the realization that for one miniscule second there he had wanted Tadashi to _kill_ the man to be pushed to the back of his mind.}

"Maya…" Your murmur in realization. "And the others…!"

They are the reason why you are still alive. They are the reason why you must keep fighting against the cruelty that surrounds you.

You exit the room without another word.

….

You somehow manage to find your way to your group's base fifteen minutes later. You don't even stop to ask why your body is not pulsing with pain. If you did stop to ask, however, you would have probably blamed it on the formula coursing through your veins.

You swing open the door leading to your base with a smile of tiredness and relief.

"G-Guys," you stutter, "I'm…"

You trail off as you realize that the base is devoid of human life. Save for the bedding that lines the ground and the bags of food and water bottles that are scattered about, the room is empty.

Something isn't right...

You frown, step into the room, and head towards the door at the back. You slowly creak open the door and step into the darkness that awaits you there. The door shuts to a close behind you. Everything is black. Sighing lightly, you reach for the light switch —-

— only to feel something wrap around your neck. Your hand darts up to that something immediately. It's a thick rope. It's a thick rope that's tightening. You. Are. Choking.

You gag and fall to the ground on your back. A humanoid body lands on top of you, pinning you to the ground. The rope tightens.

You can't breathe.

You can't breathe.

You thrash hopelessly on the ground.

Your heart begins to thrum madly in your chest.

You can't… breathe….

The world around you begins to blur into nothing—-

—-no. You can't die now. You promised Maya to return. You have to stay alive to protect the others.

You fumble around the ground, and you pause when your hands touch something cold and sharp. You grasp that cold sharpness tightly in your hands. The sharpness pricks your skin, but you don't care.

You can't breathe.

You can't breathe.

You're pathetic.

Pathetic.

Enough.

You slam the sharp object into your assailant's body and feel warmth leak down onto your hands. Your assailant's body goes limp and you toss him to the side. Scrambling to a stand and grasping the sharpness in your hands, you reach for the light switch with your free hand.

The entire room erupts with brightness.

{Hiro winced at the sudden brightness that filled the screen, but forced his eyes to stay glued to it. He squinted at the scenery that unfolded before him. From what he could tell from the audio, Tadashi had been assaulted by an unknown person.

His eyes found Tadashi's shaking form standing by the light switch. A shard of broken glass dyed in red hung loosely in his fingertips. His hand was bleeding from its sharpness, but other than that he looked relatively unharmed from the attack.

Hiro's eyes drifted towards where the assailant lay on the floor; and his heart nearly stopped altogether.

"No…"}

You stare uncomprehendingly at the humanoid form that lies in a small pool of red several feet in front of you. You stare at the long rope of black hair, the pale heavy lids, the long lashes that sprout from them like cropped grass.

"Ma… ya?" You whisper in confusion.

Why?

How?

The glass shard in your hand falls to the ground and shatters into pieces.

"Maya!" You scream as you fall to the ground and scramble towards her.

She, holding the gaping gash in her neck, stares at you. Her eyes soften as they fall onto your face, and she flashes a smile.

Why?

"Maya!" You cry as you pull her into your lap and shakily apply pressure to her neck wound (the wound that _**you**_ have made). "Oh my god… Maya… Oh my god."

The bleeding won't stop.

You shake your head as tears begin to spill from your eyes.

This can't be happening. This can't be happening.

You'd rather be tied back down in that chair than acknowledge what is unfolding before you as truth.

"Help!" You shout loudly. "Someone, please hel—

You are cut off as a shaking hand touches your face. You start, cup the hand in your own, and blink through a haze of tears down at her calm expression.

"Con...grat...ulations…" Maya says through gurgles of crimson — her entire body is shaking. "You have… successfully… eliminated…"

"No!" You shout and shake your head and press your forehead up against hers. "Don't say that. We'll get you help! I… I can _help_ you! I can save you!"

"Take… my… band…"

"No!" You repeat in a cry.

No. This can't be.

"Why?" You press. "Why?"

Maya stares up at you with sharp eyes. She presses her hand more firmly against your cheek.

"Fight and survive." She finally says. "Fight and survive, and… g-get those... b-bastards for us."

"No—"

Her eyes then stare past you — stare into nothing. Her body ceases its shaking. Her hand that touches your cheek begins to slide away.

Your eyes widen in horror; and you catch her falling hand, forcefully clamping it to your cheek.

"No…"

This can't be.

Her small hand slides out of yours and flops to the floor.

This can't be.

"Maya!" You shout as you grab her shoulders and shake her roughly. "Maya, come on! This isn't funny! Maya!"

{"Tadashi…" Hiro murmured, averting his eyse and biting his lip. "She's already…"}

You clamber to a stand and run to the white walls. You pound on them as you stare desperately up at the ceiling and shout in your hoarse, cracked voice:

"Please, you have got to help her! Save her! Please! I didn't mean to! I didn't know! I didn't..."

You pound on the walls over and over again.

"Please! Take my life instead! _Please_…."

Your knees begin to shake beneath you.

"Please, please, you don't understand!"

Your knees give way' and you collapse onto the floor in shaking sobs.

"She's just… She's just a _kid_."

This is all your fault.

All of this is your fault.

You drag yourself over to Maya's still body and place your ear against her chest. You reach your shaking hand to your own chest.

Quietness.

Thump-thump. Thump. Thump-thump. Thump.

But you can't tell who is alive and who is dead anymore

….

You are vaguely aware of the fact that you are wandering the halls and carrying something important in your arms.

What's going on?

You don't know anymore.

You look down to check what exactly it is that you are holding so protectively in your arms. Empty eyes stare back up at you.

Oh, that's right.

It's Maya.

You suddenly trip over something strewn across the floor and fall forwards. You instinctively wrap your arms protectively around her cold body. You land with your back on the floor and she lands on top of you. Just like old times…?

You gently push her off of you and lay her on the floor and then try to find out what it is that you tripped over. You register a small body clad in white strewn at your feet. Pale hair. Pale face. Pale eyes.

You know this person.

"C-Cho...Cho?" You whisper as you reach out to touch her arm.

You freeze and jerk backwards as you feel her coldness. You scramble to her side and shake her lightly. Her body is stiff.

What…?

You stare into her pale eyes that see nothing. And then… you see it. The crimson that stands out against the paleness of her entire being. The dried and caked crimson lines that are deeply rooted in her wrists.

What…?

How long…?

Why…?

This can't be happening.

Your eyes burn, but no tears fall. You are out of them.

"K-Kitsune…?"

You start at the familiar voice. You raise your head and find yourself staring at the familiar figure of Kai who lingers at the other end of the hall.

"You're here!" Kai whispers. "You're… still alive."

You stare at him.

There is a gun held tightly in his left hand. He approaches you slowly with it. Slowly — it is evident that he is injured. A crimson streak has bled diagonally onto his shirt.

{"Tadashi…" Hiro murmured. "Get away from him…!"}

"Are…" You blink at him. "Are you… okay…?"

"Yeah." Kai grunts, taking another step forward. "Knives just nicked me a bit is all."

"Knives." You repeat dissonantly. "Why?"

Kai is now swaying in front of you. His gaze shifts down to the two bodies that surround you. It lingers on Chocho's body.

"'Why' — that's rich coming from you!" Kai growls suddenly.

You look up at him and see only pure hatred. By that's fine. You hate yourself too.

"Why are _you_ alive?" Kai growls, raising the gun to your eye-level. "Why are you still alive when Chocho is dead?! Why didn't you save her?"

You stare blankly at the gun, and then you stare blankly at him.

You don't know why.

"Stop staring at me and answer me!"

What does he want you to say? You already know that it's all your fault.

You watch as Kai begins to tremble uncontrollably. You watch as his index finger begins to push down on the trigger of the gun. But you can't find yourself caring at all.

There is, however, a sudden flash of silver and black that slides in-between the two of you. You don't have to look twice to know that it is Knives who has swooped in for the rescue. There is another flash of silver, and it is followed by an eruption of red and then by a loud booming sound.

Kai's figure sways for a moment in confusion. He stares down at the thick, red line that has been drawn across his stomach, before he sinks to his knees and falls forward onto the ground. He does not move any further.

You stare at his motionlessness.

Out of the corner of your eye you see Knives's shadowy figure move towards you, and you become vaguely aware of the fact that he is shaking you. You, in turn, slowly and sluggishly blink up at him.

He is no longer wearing an indifferent expression, but a purely worried one.

"Kitsune." He repeats. "Are you okay." His eyes scan your unclothed body and the deep scars and bruises that dot it; they linger on your right arm. "What… _happened_?"

"Kai…" You murmur. "Chocho…. What happened to them?"

Knives's eyes become pained for a moment.

"After you left," he whispers, "Chocho… she ended it. And Kai just couldn't accept it. He couldn't let it go… And he just lost it." He pauses and grimaces. "Sierra taunted him about Chocho's death, and he… killed her. Just like that."

"Oh." You blink dissonantly and speak without actually realizing that you're speaking. "That's rather pathetic, don't you think?"

Knives, carefully hiding away his disturbance with his mask of indifference, studies you. He winces suddenly and doubles over. His stomach is gushing with crimson.

You stare at him for a moment in stupor.

And then, just like that, the weight of everything that has occurred hits you like a tidal wave.

Maya is dead. You killed her.

Chocho is dead. You killed her too.

Sierra is dead. You killed her too.

Kai is dead. You killed him too.

Knives is _dying_. You are killing him.

"Knives!" You stutter as you guide him the ground and press on the gaping hole in his stomach. "Stay with me!"

"It looks like he managed to shoot me after all." Knives mutters as he stares up at you. "I'm going to die."

"Don't say that!" You hiss at him, brushing back his dark hair. "Don't you dare say that!"

Knives's gaze drifts past you and towards Maya's body that lies behind you. His indifferent expression slides away altogether and is replaced by a pained one once again.

"Maya…"

"I-I…" You stutter, your eyes burning again; you bury your head into your hands. "I killed her…"

You become surprised when Knives's expression becomes relieved.

"So our plan worked after all…." He sighs. "You can move on to the next level now."

"No, I can't…" You shake your head roughly. "Not without the rest of yo—-

You are cut off as Knives grabs you roughly by the scruff and pulls you downwards. He stares at you with sharp and intense eyes.

"We used our lives to prolong yours." Knives deadpans. "Do you understand. Now, you need to live out your life for the rest of us."

"You can live out your life yourself!" You press as you shake your head.

"No." Knives repeats firmly. "I'm going to die here. I know this is selfish of me, but promise me."

His nails dig into your skin.

You nod slowly at him.

"Good."

He releases you from his grasp and lies back down on the floor.

"Don't leave me alone…" You whisper. "I was only able to come this far because of all of you…"

"That's rich." Knives deadpans with an empty laugh. "Everyone was thinking the same about you…." He pauses for a moment, before he looks at you and continues. "I was serious when I said that nice people like you scare me."

You can't find it in you to laugh or smile. Or cry.

"But y'know?" He continues in barely a whisper. "I've actually always really… liked you…"

There is complete and utter silence. It rings loudly in your eyes m

"Knives?" You murmur as you bend down and slowly touch his shoulder. "Knives?"

Nothing.

Your eyes widen in horror and realization.

"Knives?!" You shout as you grab him by the shoulders and shake him roughly. "Knives, please! Knives!"

You press your ear against his chest and hear nothing.

This can't be real.

This can't be real.

Everyone is… dead?

…

{Hiro stared in horror at the screen before him. At the unmoving scenery that played behind it. Everything was just so still, so surreal.

It… had happened all so fast.

His brother sat shaking at the center of the square of bodies. It was evident that he was still unable to comprehend everything that had unfolded.

"I…" Tadashi stuttered as he reached out towards Maya's still form; but he quickly withdrew his hand. "I…"

"Tadashi." Hiro leaned forward and touched the screen. "I-It's okay, Tadashi."

Hiro watched with burning eyes as his brother shakily lowered his head into his hands and dug his nails into his scalp. He choked on a sob as a blood curdling scream erupted from his brother's mouth. And he closed his eyes as the scream resonated in the air. The sound pierced his chest.

It hurt.

He hated it. He hated how he couldn't do anything. He hated how hopeless and useless he was. So what if he had an unbelievably high IQ? So what if he got into Sanfransokyo University at the age of fourteen? What good was all of that uselessness when he couldn't even help his one and only big brother?

Hiro opened his eyes as the scream died away and hesitantly raised them to the screen. There Tadashi sat unmovingly with his head still buried in his hands. Everything was still. In fact, everything was so still that Hiro would have thought that he was looking at a painting rather than a video if it had not been for the steadily growing puddle of blood that was pooling across the white floor.

Hiro bit his lip and touched the screen again.

"Come on, 'Dashi…"

The stillness remained.

His brother's mind was probably in absolute turmoil.

And… for some reason… he found that he could picture exactly what was going through his brother's mind at that moment.}

...

You are sitting on the surface of a still lake. It's so still that you can see your reflection beneath you. Your reflection. You peer down at it, and it peers up at you — or is it the reverse? You can't tell. Your reflection. It disgusts you.

Everything disgusts you.

You don't understand everything. Anything.

And that disgusts you too.

| _Fight and survive._

| _Live for us._

Why?

Why couldn't they just do that themselves?

Why?

"Maya…"

You recall her dimming gaze. The gaze that _you_ dimmed.

Why?

"... I don't want to be alone… I hate being alone..."

Why?

You recall Kai's cruel maddened gaze. You recall his anger, his hedonism. His inability to control his emotions. His inability to let go. _His_ _patheticness_, a voice whispers at the back of your mind.

Why?

You recall Knives's indifferent expression. His last request of you. His hedonism.

Why?

You recall Ron's taunts and sadism. You recall the prickle of the needles on your skin. You recall the knife's tip running along your open flesh. The hedonism. The cruelty. The inhumaness of it all. Animal.

Why?

You recall Sierra's smirk. Her words. Her philosophy. _Her_ _**logic**_, a voice whispers to you again.

Why?

You recall Maya's ranging expressions. Her fears. Her hopes. Her final request to you. _Her_ _**weakness**_, the voice whispers again, _she gave up on living just like that and used your hands to end her own life!_

Why?

You recall Chocho's quietness. Her reservedness. Her death — her death that started this inescapable chain of misfortune. _This…. All of this is her fault. Her selfishness and weakness caused all of this._

No. All of this is your fault.

Why?

Why?

Your heart feels like its being torn to shreds and your mind feels like its overheating and overloading. Everything hurts. Not physically, no. Nothing hurts physically. Something 'inside' hurts. It hurts so much that you'd rather die than feel this pain.

You want to claw your face off, rip out your hair, scrape out your eyes. You want to do all of these things because you still can't understand...

Why?

Why was everyone so… Why were people so—

"—disgusting. Selfish."

{Hiro's heart stopped as he heard those two words escape from his brother's mouth.}

"That's right, Kitsune…"

You raise your head at the voice.

Where is it coming from?

Below you.

Your reflection.

No.

That's not your face. That's —

"Sierra." You stare down at her as she stares up at you — or is it the reverse? You bite your lips and hold your heads in your hands. "I've had enough of this already. I'm tired of it. I'm sick of it. I want it to stop! The pain — no, everything — I just want it all to disappear."

"'Stop' you say? 'Disappear'?" Sierra cooes softly, as she brushes her curtain of red hair to the side. "Do you really want those things so badly?"

"Yes." You say through gritted teeth.

"Even if the 'you' right now has to disappear?" She asks as she touches the tip of the surface of the water beneath you.

"Yes, even if that happens..." You cry as you lower your head. "I don't even care if that happens!"

"Even if you have to hurt others." Sierra — no, it's Knives now — asks you in deadpan with an indifferent expression from beneath you (above you?). "Even if you had to kill — would you do that too if that was the cost."

You freeze.

Kai mercilessly pulled the trigger at you, at Knives.

Ron and his followers didn't hesitate to dig the needles into your arm or smash your fingers or draw the knife along your chest or whip you until you passed out from the pain .

Sierra smiled whenever she thought she was going to be able to hurt somebody. She became ecstatic when she taunted others.

The dead bodies that you've seen — the people that killed those people… they didn't hesitate, did they? No they didn't. They didn't hesitate because they were trying to preserve their own lives. Their lives were more important than the lives of those they had killed. They weren't at fault. They weren't at fault at all. The world was the one that was at fault. They were just trying to survive.

| _Fight and survive._

And you?

Your life is…

Your life is…

"Even if I had to kill others…" You whisper, before you shout out in a loud voice: ".._.I'd do it_! I'd do it as many times as I'd have to!"

"Good boy." Knives — no, he's turned into Maya now — reaches up out of the water and cups your face endearingly. She peers up into your face and you peer down into hers — or is it the opposite? "That's right, Kitsune…"

You blink at her expressionlessly. You remain expressionless even as her small face morphs into Sierra's grinning expression.

"Putting others lives before your own, choosing not to hurt people that hurt you, defying natural selection, following your heart instead of your mind — doing all of those things because you don't want to dirty your hands or because of intangible things like 'morals'..." Sierra cooes with a smirk. "That isn't kindness. That's just being weak."

You suddenly become aware of the fact that you are crying scalding tears. Sierra wipes one of them away with her thumb. And you watch as her face morphs into that of Chocho's.

"Are you going to continue to be weak, Kitsune?" Chocho asks quietly. "Are you going to continue to be the one that always gets hurt? The one that is always left alone?"

Your eyes widen and the tears that are spilling out of your eyes increase uncontrollably. Your eyes widen even further as your reflection once again dones another face. This time it takes on the mask of Kai.

"Can you still be pushed around by people like me? Forgive people like me even?" Kai asks you quietly. "How about people like Ron? How about the people who are running this maze?"

"No…" You answer him shakily through gritted teeth as you roughly shake your head. "Not anymore… I can't! I can't forgive any of it!"

You find yourself staring into your own face again. Your reflection smiles at you before rippling out of existence. But you are soon joined by another companion. A humanoid figure rises out of the water and alights on top of its surface. It's Sierra.

You stand so that you can be at eye-level with her.

"What do you plan on doing now?"

| _Fight and survive._

"Fighting and surviving." You answer her calmly.

A tear — red in hue — trickles down from your cheek, drips down from your chin, and splatters down into the water below you. The redness from that tear spreads its smoky tendrils outwards until it consumes the entire lake in red. The formerly blue sky above you takes on a similar hue of crimson.

Sierra morphs into Chocho.

"These people who are watching us kill each other and forcing us to do these ridiculous tasks…" Chocho murmurs. "We probably aren't their first victims and we probably won't be their last either."

You turn from her and stare down at the redness of the water below you. A thin wisp rises from its surface and solidifies into a solid line. Crimson tendrils sprout from its tip and morph into thin spidery petals.

A red spider lily.

Higanbana.

The flower of lost memory. Abandonment. Departure. Last good-byes. Reincarnation.

"Other people are going to be hurt by them too, and they're probably never going to let you go." Chocho, who has now become Maya, continues in a quiet voice.

| _Kill those bastards who are sitting at the top and laughing at us._

"Neither of those things are going to happen." You tell her steadily. "I'll stop them."

You watch dissonantly as red spider lilies slowly continue to rise to the surface. You are now standing in a garden of them.

"And you're going to do this all by yourself."

You don't have to turn to know that Maya has now transformed into Knives. The question asked in deadpan has given it away.

| _Live for us._

"No…" You answer slowly, turning to face him; you approach him and stop only when you are an inch away from him. "_You_ are."

Knives's image ripples and morphs into that of Chocho's. You stare down at her and she stares up at you. Keeping this eye-contact constant, you slowly raise your hands and wrap them around her pale neck. Chocho sinks to her knees.

"Are you sure?" She whispers. "Are you sure you want to do this even if it may be the wrong decision?"

"There is no such thing as a wrong decision. It's all ideals and opinions." You reply, pushing her back until she falls backwards onto the pool of crimson. You land on top of her with your fingers still latched to her neck. "This way, I'll be able to keep both of my promise without any..."

"... complications." Knives finishes for you as he blinks up at you.

You nod slowly and watch as his facial features soften until you find yourself staring at Maya's face once more. You tighten your grip on her neck and begin to push her downwards beneath the water.

"Isn't that selfish and cowardly?" She asks you as her eyes and forehead become submerged beneath the sheet of red.

"There's nothing wrong with that. It's all just ideals and opinions anyways."

Using all of your strength, you force her entire body beneath the water. You watch as she sinks down into its depths. No, that isn't right. _You _are the one who is sinking in the ocean of red, while Maya is the one who stands on the surface. You look up at her, and she looks down at you.

Role-reversal.

The others are 'alive', and you are 'dead'.

And that's perfectly fine.

You watch as your reflection's face changes like the lights of a kaleidoscope. Maya's sad reluctance. Chocho's gentle wariness. Kai's set frown. Knives's mask of indifference. Sierra's cruel smirk. And then, you see your face. It's full of contempt, but such contempt is quickly hidden by a fox-themed mask that [you] pull up onto [your] face.

Kitsune.

The perfect animal.

….

{Hiro started and shook his head in confusion. For a moment there, he swore that he had seen his brother sink himself into a pool of crimson. Was he...seeing things? That was the only scientific and logical explanation. He was seeing things because he was slightly traumatized and extremely exhausted. But... It had all seemed... so real...

A loud thwacking suddenly drew his attention to the screen. His heart nearly stopped again when he realized what was unfolding before him.

His brother was currently being kicked, punched, and thrown around by a group of men — six in all — clad in white. He recognized one of the men among them. It was Ron.

When had he entered the hallway?

And why was his brother as limp as a rag doll? Was he unconscious? No. His eyes were open, but they were far away.

"That's what you get for attacking your master!" Ron growled as he picked Tadashi up by the scruff and pressed him up against the wall. "All of your friends are dead now!"

Tadashi's expression was hidden by his dark hair.

"Shut up, you jerk!" Hiro seethed as he punched the screen again angrily.

"Now," Ron grinned, "I'm going to drag you back with me, and we're going to have the best time ever—-

A clear laugh rang out in the hall, causing Ron to freeze with widened eyes.

Hiro found himself swallowing a lump in his throat as he watched as Tadashi — no, that wasn't Tadashi anymore; it was... Sierra? — lifted his head with a smirk. Hiro saw the bright-haired woman's image flicker in his brother's place for a moment.

"That's hilarious." Tadashi — no, Sierra? Kitsune? —- continued to smirk as he looked at Ron as if he were an insect. "You really are such an insignificant and depraved man."}

"You..." Ron murmurs with widened eyes as he stares down at [your] smirking expression; he relases his grip on [your] neck and takes a step backwards. "Who are you...?"

"What a _stupid_ question." [You] deadpan, before [you] gaze at him steadily. "I'm Kitsune."

Without skipping a beat, [you] spin and kick Ron to the side. [You] want to save him for later. As soon as [you] commit this action, the other five are on you. But they are so _slow_.

[You] quickly dart towards Knives's body and pick up the long blade that is held stiffly in his hands. A man lunges at [you] as [you] do so, and [you] bring the knife across his stomach. There is an eruption of crimson that splatters onto your face as the man falls forward. [You] deftly catch him — he's as light as a feather — and toss his body at another man. Said man starts at the sudden body, and [you] use his confusion to [your] advantage. [You] charge at the corpse and the man who stands behind it; and [you] drive the blade in [your] hands through the corpse, to the man's body, and through that at as well.

{Hiro stared at Tadashi's quickly darting form. He moved so fast that he almost appeared inhuman. As he continued to stare at the massacre that was unfolding before him, he came to realize that the darting form was not that of Tadashi's. It was Knives who was dropping the bodies like flies.}

Before [you] can pull the knife out of both bodies, however, a sharp pain pierces [your] leg. [You] turn [your] head and find [yourself] staring at a shaking man who is holding a gun that is pointed at [you] tightly in his hands.

[You] can't help but smirk at his patheticness.

[You] take a step forwards, but pause as another sharp pain pierces your shoulder. [You] stare at the bullet-sized wound in [your] shoulder, before [you] look at the gun-wielding man blankly.

"I would be lying if I said that this hurt," [you] inform him dissonantly, "especially after everything that you pieces of trash have done."

Without even waiting for him to react, [you] charge at him, rip the gun out of his hands, and point it squarely at his forehead. [You] pull the trigger without any hesitation. [You] then turn and point the nose of the gun at the two men who are standing in the corner of the room with widened eyes and raised hands.

"Pathetic." [You] comment as [you] pull the trigger on the both of them.

One left.

[You] turn [your] eyes onto Ron's form that trembles in the corner of the room. [You] slowly approach him; and [your] gaze darkens as [you] hear his whimpering. He is so weak. Weakness irritates [you].

Bending down slightly, [you] grab his hair and pull him up to a kneeling position. [You] bend down and whisper into his ear:

"Shut up."

He swallows his whimpers.

"Y'know," [you] murmur, "I've always wondered what it would be like to torture someone."

His breath hitches.

"But you really aren't worth my time."

Before he can even respond, [you] point the gun in your hand at his stomach. [You] pull the trigger.

"One."

[You] pull the trigger again.

"Two."

Again.

"Three."

Again.

"Four."

Again.

"Five."

Again.

{Hiro shook his head and covered his ears as the endless banging cacophony echoed from the speakers}

Nothing happens.

[You] push down the trigger again, but all that follows is a sharp clicking sound. [You] stare at the gun.

"Out of bullets." [You] mutter. "What a waste."

There is silence.

[You] walk over to where Maya's corpse is laid on the floor. [You] bend down and remove the bracelet from her wrist. [You] stare into her eyes, but [you] feel nothing…?

[You] are a monster after all.

[You] rise from your kneeling position and make [your] way towards [your] level door. Once [you] reach it, it slides open for [you]. [You] step to the other side and tune [your] ears.

**Congratulations. The participant Kitsune has made it to level ten. This is the final level. To remain in this level, you are required to find and inject formula every hour which will be indicated by a loud beeping tone.**

"That's a bit much." [You] deadpan.

**To pass on to the next level, you are required to eliminate 25 other participants and acquire their bands.**

[You] smirk.

{He was gone.

Tadashi was gone.}

* * *

[Day 30]

Four more to go.

You stare at the bands that line your left arm as you walk along the hall.

"You, brat!"

You raise your head at the sound. It's coming from the corner down the hall. You quickly but carefully approach the corner and press your back against the wall.

There is a smacking sound followed by a startled whimper and cry.

"I asked you to bring me two packs of cigarettes, not one!" comes the same voice in a shout. "You stupid, brat!" Another smacking sound resounds. "Is this what you do for me after I've gotten you this far?!"

Your head perks up at the word 'cigarette'.

Grasping the gun in your left hand and the knife in your right, you turn the corner.

Before you a man stands with his back facing you. His hand is raised, and he brings it down on a girl who sits cowering in front of him. The girl appears no older than fourteen and has a rope of dark hair and dark lashes. The bruises that dot her body are the same shade as her hair.

{Hiro's eyes widened as he registered and recognized the cowering girl; and his heart sank in his chest.

"Hebi…?"}

Maya?

No.

Maya is dead.

What's gone is gone. Sentiments are fatal.

The girl's verdigris eyes lock onto your form. But before she can shout, you approach the man from behind, point the gun to the back of his head, and pull the trigger.

The girl screams as a loud booming sound echoes throughout the hall; and whimpers as the large man falls forward onto the ground dead. She watches you with fearful eyes as you bend down next to the man's body and remove three items from him: his band, a box of cigarettes that are held tightly in his left hand, and a black lighter that rests in his other hand.

You slide the band onto your left wrist and shake open the cigarette box. You gingerly pull one out from the box and stare at it blankly. Flicking open the lighter, you ignite the flame and hold it to the end of the cigarette. The butt of it glows with orange light and you put the stick to your lips. You inhale deeply and —

— cough and choke. Your eyes water as the acrid smoke burns your throat and lungs. And for a moment, you are in a different place. You are in a burning building and you are searching for—-

And like that, you are back in reality. As soon as your coughing fits subside, you inhale another bout of smoke. You forcefully hold it in, and slowly blow it out.

{"Kai…" Hiro murmured with lowered eyes, before he raised them to glance at Hebi.}

You finally remember the cowering girl and turn to face her. You approach her slowly and grip the knife tightly in your right hand. You come to a stop several inches away from her. Staring down at her wide eyes, you point the knife at her.

Sentiment is a fatal flaw.

_But, she's just a __**kid**_, a voice whispers at the back of your mind.

You flip the knife around in the air and catch it by the blade. You push the handle towards her. She, in turn, stares up at you in confusion.

"Fight and survive." You order her. "Kill people before they kill you. Don't let yourself get hurt."

Her eyes widen and shakily takes the knife from you with both of her hands.

You turn and leave without another word.

Unknown to you, a red-haired woman with a band that reads 'Neko' observes you from the other end of the hall. She was prepared to fire her gun at you when she saw you raise the knife at the girl, but she lowered her gun once she saw you hand the girl the knife.

{"So that's why…" Hiro murmured.}

* * *

[Day 35]

Trial: 5b

| Maintenance Room |

The man known only as Tako sighs as he steps over yet another corpse clad in laboratory clothes. Grumbling melodramatically to himself, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his cellphone. He dials a number as he walks over to the computer screen, hits a button on the keyboard, and watches the most recent recordings.

"Oh…" His eyes widen as he registers the massacre that plays out before him; he breaks out into a smile. "So much for not killing, huh, Doctor Rank?"

"Yes?" comes a voice from his cellphone.

"We've run into a bit of an accident here, boss." Tako sighs, leaning against the blood splattered keyboards. "It seems one of the participants decided to go on a killing spree after he finished his trial. Codename: Kitsune. This place is a mess. Looked as if he held an intense grudge."

"I see…" the voice mutters. "And where is he now?"

"Looking at the video feed," Tako replies in a sing-song voice, "it seems as if he and some of the other successful participants escaped."

"Go after them." The voice orders.

"And kill them?" Tako asks lightly.

"No."

Tako pauses.

"Use them."

"What?" Tako frowns.

"The operation needs to be cleaned up," the voice explains, "and certain… disobedient and questionable contractors need to be dealt with."

Tako narrows his eyes and thrums his fingers along the keyboards.

"Besides," the voice continues, "this gives us an opportunity to extend trial 5b and test out different versions of the prototype formula."

"So," Tako tilts his head, "you basically want me to manipulate them and use their anger towards this entire operation to benefit the operation."

"Yes," the voice affirms. "That is simple enough, isn't it?"

"Ah, yes." Tako grins. "It's kind of like poetic justice if you think about it."

{The screen died to black.

Hiro bit down on his lip hard. He felt warmness trickle down his chin and tasted iron his mouth. These people. These people would pay for what they did to his brother.

He clenched his fists as angry tears threatened to spill down his eyes.

He wouldn't let Tadashi dirty his hands with eliminating these people. He would eliminate these people himself.}

* * *

Next Chapter: Seishinbyō (精神病)

∟ "Psychosis"

Seeing the smirk grow on Kitsune's face, Hiro frowned and stared at him steadily.

"Sierra." He said firmly.

The man immediately froze and stared at the adolescent with widened eyes. Wasabi also froze, and his eyes widened in realization.

"I would be lying if—"

"Maya." Hiro said, even more firmly than before.

He watched as a plethora of emotions flickered across the man's face.

"Stop living for others who are gone, and start living for yourself!"

…

She gently pried the knife away from his shaking hands, peered into Kitsune's face, and smiled faintly at him.

"Your hands… Tadashi, your hands aren't meant for hurting people. They're meant for saving them."

…

"Tadashi is dead." Kitsune muttered under his breath.

"Tadashi is here." The robot repeated.

"Stop…" Kitsune growled through gritted teeth. "Stop saying that!"

…

A large puddle of blood pooled below Hiro's fingertips; and the adolescent blinked uncomprehendingly down at the man who lay beneath of him.

"Congratulations, kid. You managed to kill me after all."

* * *

**A/N**: Huzzah, I updated! But goddamn, this was long. 10.5k words not including this section. Jesus. I didn't mean to make it so psychological either… It just… well, happened.

Anyways, thanks to all those who read, followed, and favorited!

A big thank you goes out to —

Random Reader 17: Many thanks! I was trying to make the flash black chapter pulp fiction/ baccano-ish. And yeah, you're right. It is a lot like Portal xD.

TadashiFan: Thank you, friend! And no problem!

Sabeloid: Yas, the anime weaboo within me is strong v-v. Aw, I love you too xD.

Fuhji podues-Escapa non: Thank you! And yes, Hiro is watching what is going on in the maintenance room. Although Tadashi didn't directly kill Knives, he believes that Knives's death is his fault, so yeah. I guess your right. As for Sierra… she's just naturally psychotic. And yup, you're right about the Usagi's care for Tadashi springs from that moment. Maya is slightly less psychotic than Hebi, but I can see what you mean. (I actually did not plan the white recollection thing and the bracelets thing, but wow! xD That is actually very brilliant of you!) Thanks for the advice, friend! The chocolate and music definitely did help. I was just having a pretty bad week… Adieu!

teengens: Oh! Well, Happy Birthday, friend! Thanks for the compliments! You're making me blush o u o. It was painful breaking Tadashi in this chapter, to be honest. And no problem! Here's a chapter for you!

skydancerfyremagyk: Here's an update for you! There will be a bunch of brotherly feels in the next chapter for sure! And there will be hugging too! Tragic… hugging. But, y'know. (::) (::) Some cookies for you too!

Guest (1): No worries. I wasn't planning on making OC pairings with canon characters. Plus, they're dead so... v-v. Thanks for your input though!

Just Passing By: I'll dabble some in for you!

Producciones Escudo. Lol XD. Wait… So much of your theory was censored that I don't actually know whether or not your theory is right XD. I'm glad that you are theorizing about the story though! And yes. Very reference xD.

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Thanks! c;

freebird4: I understand the feeling, man. I understand completely. /patpat.

FanGirlJen: Oh, that's really cool! I'm actually bilingual myself. Vietnamese… and a tiny bit of Latin but that doesn't really count xD. /sparkles. And aw, thank you very much for the compliments! Hm? What do those characters mean? xD I popped it into google transla

Anon: It's mostly because of the earlier requests to be honest, but I can kind of see them together(?)

cresscent: Lol, that's Fred for you. And I'm really glad that you enjoyed the brotherly scene ! I hope you enjoy the rest of the chapters, friend!

hy0rinlove: Oh, that's a relief c;. And they really do deserve happy endings o n o. But… argh… my sadism is kind of making me sway in between a tragic and happy ending. Poor, Hiro, indeed… Especially in this chapter v-v. I agree with your statement about the Animals being the victims of unfortunate circumstances. Lol, I can feel the Tako-hate from here. Poor, Hitsuji v-v. And no worries, their real names will be more or less revealed in time! Spoilers: after the end of the next chapter, Hebi will be somewhat indebted to Hiro. Anyways, thank you for your compliments! Your review made me very happy!

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: No worries! I shan't give up! I shall pull through! Thanks for your motivational words, friend!

sykim423rose: Poor, tadashi… And I actually have all of those things. xD. My tumblr user is the same as my fanfiction one. /nodnod. And if, you'd like, you could give me your number over PM. We could be texting buddies, I guess XD!

Faller's Wings: Thank you much for reviewing all the chapters in one go o u o! And yas, I agree with the tragedy thing.. v-v

A Very Lazy Guy: Oh! Does it? Herm... Whoops xD. Thanks for telling me!

MangaMan9000: Gosh, the fact that you plan out your reviews is wonderful. And it makes me really happy too o u o. I always look forward to your reviews. Many thanks for the digital cookies and compliments! I was hoping to add more emotion by adding the second person POV and I'm glad that it is effective! And yes, you are corrective about Sierra being psychotic before the trials. Her attitude got herself killed… sadly (?). She was really just meant to be a cruel, bullyish character. Unfortunately, Maya is not Hebi. Hebi coins the phrase from TAdashi since she kind of… idolizes him, I guess. I'm glad that the making-faces scene earned a couple of laughs from you though XD. As for Tako — he's more like the indirect cause of it all. And yes, such tragedy v-v. It was almost painful to write some of the scenes in this chapter. Thanks for your support and motivational words, btw! c; And as for the pairings, thing… I'm not going to put any OC pairings in this fic, so no worries about that xD. Just… a lot of nakama-ship, I guess? Anyways, thank you again!

— for reviewing! Your words keep me going!


	15. Psychosis

**Fox Face and Flames**

* * *

_Fifteenth Encounter_: Seishinbyō (精神病)

∟ "Psychosis"

* * *

"I'm a monster, aren't I?"

With eyes that stung with salty tears, Wasabi stared at Tadashi's torn expression. No, not Tadashi. If the story he had just heard was true, the person — the fragment of a person — sitting before him was not Tadashi. The man whom he and the others had 'encountered' and comforted in Kitsune's room had not been Tadashi either. If anything, the person then and the person who sat before him now was… a fragment of the quiet woman named Chocho…?

"You're not, man." Wasabi finally answered him in a strained voice. "You're not at all…"

He reached over and gripped Tadashi's — no, Kitsune's — shoulder tightly and peered into his face.

"You may not remember it," he murmured, "but you've done amazing things and you've helped _so_ many people…"

There was a pause of silence and Kitsune visibly winced at it. He side-glanced at the larger man with cold and indifferent eyes.

"You mean Tadashi not me."

Knives.

"I don't even know why I bothered telling you." Kitsune continued, coming to a stand and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "It's not like it benefits me, or it will change anything... It must be the effects of the withdrawal."

Wasabi came to a stand as well with a set frown.

"You look like you're ready to fight me." Kitsune noted dully. "I would be lying if I said that I would hold back if you came at me."

Wasabi threw his hand exasperatedly up into the air, earning him a raised eyebrow.

"Dude! I don't want to fight you! I... I want to help you!"

Kitsune glowered at him, before a smirk tugged at his lips.

"If you want to help me, then find the leader of the Doubutsu Operation." Kitsune said calmly as he formed a mock gun with his hand and held it to his temple. "And put a bullet through his head." He lowered his hand and stared at Wasabi's tenseness steadily. "That's the only way someone like you can help someone like me."

"That's a little extreme, don't you think?"

The quietly asked question came from behind him; and Kitsune turned to register Hiro emerge from the hole in wall that he had originally disappeared into. For some reason, the man felt relief blossom in his chest when he saw the adolescent. Had he been... _worried_? He wasn't too sure.

"You're alive." Kitsune noted as he watched the adolescent approach. "I would be lying if I said that I wasn't surprised."

Wasabi was at Hiro's side immediately and barraged him with questions ranging from whether or not he was hurt to whether or not he found the others to whether or not he had found a way out. The adolescent answered negative to all the questions all the while staring with melancholy eyes at Kitsune's face.

"What." Kitsune deadpanned.

Hiro stumbled forward and broke the distance between them. Before Kitsune could react, He wrapped his arms around the man's waist and buried his face in the man's chest. What he was giving the man was not the death-like hug he had given him when he had first realized that he was his brother. It was not a desperate cling. No, what he was giving the man was a melancholy, yet comforting embrace.

Kitsune froze in confusion and then tensed. He blinked blankly at Wasabi who just gave him a melancholy and sad look. Such a look of pity would have usually enraged him, but he couldn't bring himself to even spark a flame of anger. Perhaps this was because the front of his shirt was damp.

Hiro was... crying?

"I'm sorry..." Hiro mumbled. "I'm so sorry, 'Dashi." His fingers gripped the back of Kitsune's shirt tightly.

"Hiro..." Wasabi murmured.

Kitsune stared indifferently down at the boy's shaking form.

"Kid—"

Hiro visibly winced at the address and snapped his head upwards. And as soon Kitsune's steely eyes registered the adolescent's sad, teary, dark ones, all of the indifference on his face melted away. His eyebrows furrowed; and he lowered his stiff hands to the boy's shoulders. When the boy met his gaze, he averted his eyes in fear of losing himself.

"Don't... Cry..."

His grip on the boy's shoulders tightened, and he couldn't help but gaze down at his pained expression. It was a mistake on his part because, just like that, he was gone.

"What happened, Hiro?" Wasabi whispered as he approached the two brothers.

"Nothing..." He whispered in turn. "It's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing." Kitsune frowned concernedly and dazedly, bending down to the adolescent's eye-level. "What happened, Hiro?"

The adolescent stared at his brother's worried expression and found that his heart felt like it was being torn to pieces. The fragment of soft kindness that stood before him was not his brother — a small splintered part of him, maybe; but not the whole.

Broken.

He was staring at a broken mirror; and running his eyes along it, he found that — just like shards of broken glass — the longer he touched [gazed upon] it, the deeper the cuts in his chest became. So, he averted his eyes and stared holes into the concrete floor. It was then that he realized that something very important had been taken from him.

"Taken from you..."

Hiro, realizing that he had spoken his last thought aloud, raised his eyes upwards in surprise. And what he saw — what Wasabi saw as well — was not his brother. For a moment, their eyes witnessed an aberration. An illusion. A smirk framed by copper hair.

"Look. If you don't want to have something taken from you, you are going to have to take things from other people."

Hiro stared up at Kitsune with wide eyes. Even though he knew that he was listening to the advice of a sly fox, he could not help but to allow the phrase to ring loudly in his mind.

"Duuuude, Tadashi." came a sudden voice from them. "That was one pretty sick anti-hero line."

Kitsune, pulling up his mask of indifference once more, lowered his hands from Hiro's shoulder and allowed one of them to rest on his hip. Hiro and Wasabi, who both could not see the one who had spoken because they were facing Kitsune, turned on their heels immediately with widened eyes.

Four figures — eight figures, if the four unconscious bodies being along hefted by the largest figure counted — emerged from the wall space that Hiro had come from. It didn't take long for Hiro and Wasabi to identify the bubbly blonde, the lax reptilic man, the large smiling man, and the scowling young girl.

"You guys!" Honey Lemon cried as she bounded over to the three standing men. Before they had time to react, she pulled them into a tight hug to which they responded in different ways.

Wasabi graciously returned the hug with a smile and patted her on the back; Hiro started and blushed profusely; while Kitsune simply stood stiffly in place. This stiffness increased tenfold as Fred bounded over and pounced on their cramped group, while shouting in a loud voice:

"Grouuuup huuuuug!"

The torture for the man didn't end there. Taka, who had been laying on Baymax's belly up until that moment, jumped to a stand which Baymax interpreted as him no longer needing his assistance. That being so, Baymax wobbled to a stand as well, wobbled over to where the hugging group was, and wrapped them in his large marshmallowy arms.

The three figures who were not a part of this scene observed it with varying reactions. Hebi scowled intensely while demanding that they release Kitsune from their degrading death hold. Usagi snickered to himself but hid his chuckles behind a loud cough. And Taka rambled to himself about recording the entire scene and posting it online as a vine.

"Dude," Fred said, his voice muffled because his head was buried in Kitsune's chest, "we had the most intense heart-to-heart convo _eve—_

_"_Hebi. Usagi." Kitsune, ignoring the man's comment, addressed the two amused and unamused bystanders. "The formula. You took a dosage after we fell."

Wasabi and Hiro flinched, earning an inquiring look from Honey Lemon.

"Well," Usagi shrugged his shoulders, "about that."

"Okay." Hebi clipped, cutting the man off; she thumbed Usagi and pouted and nodded earnestly. "I only had two syringes on me that survived the fall. I gave one of them to this rabbit boy over here, and he forced the other one — the one I wanted to save for you — on _me_!"

"_Okay_," Taka nodded with sarcasm, "that's cool. No need to care about giving the formula to me. After all, I'm just a side character on this swirling downwards spiral of 'taking the Hobbits to Isengard'. I'm just a red shirt aboard the enterprise. No sweat, Captain Kirk, I'll just go aboard the Titanic, dance with a Leonardo Dicaprio version 1.0, and sink into the icy reaches of death. Just let me wander around in the gardens of Neon Evangelion, and break it down like Shinji Ikari."

There was silence.

"That wasn't an unusual monologue from you." Usagi noted with a raised eyebrow. "But that was unusually _expressive_ of you."

"You _weirdo_." Hebi frowned, before she looked at him up and down. "Are... You... Right in the head right now?" Although her words were biting, her tone was concerned.

"Oh, damn." Fred untangled himself from the mass and strode over to where Taka stood. "Are we talking about an End of Evangelion level break here?"

"What?!" Hebi scowled. "What the hell does that even mean?"

"That times Attack on Titan and squared by X-Men: The Last Stand." Taka answered him sincerely.

"What."

"Duuuude." Fred shook his head as he gently placed his hands on Taka's shoulders. "That ain't good, bro." He glanced at the others who were looking at the two of them with mixed expressions. "He needs help."

"Would someone please explain what this loser is saying?" Hebi growled with crossed arms. "What's wrong with him?"

"Uh," Wasabi interjected, "are you talking about the psychosis?"

"Yeah," Taka pointed at the man and nodded at him, before he lowered his head with h wince, "that word."

"Psy... Psychosis?" Honey Lemon frowned deeply.

Usagi frowned as well, shrugged the unconscious bodies off of his shoulders, and laid them on the ground.

"Yeah." Wasabi nodded, his expression becoming grim. He then began to explain the situation to the others — leaving out what he had learned from Kitsune's tale.

While all of this was occurring, Hiro found his attention being drawn away by an object that glinted behind a pile of rubble in the corner of the room. He drifted away from the conversing group and towards the glinting object. Peering over the strewn rocks and registering what the object was in actuality, Hiro felt his heart nearly jump right out of his chest. He swallowed, glanced backwards, and gingerly picked up the glinting object.

"_If you don't want to have something taken from you, you are going to have to take from other people."_

After staring at it for several long seconds, he stowed it away in one of his suit's many compartments.

"My poor, poor Kitsune!" came Hebi's recognizable, melodramatic cry.

Hiro's head perked up; and he found himself raising an eyebrow as he registered Hebi run and wrap Kitsune in a tight hug. It was a bit hypocritical per say. Either way, said Kitsune did not look pleased by her advancements either.

Smoothing away his troubled and torn expression, Hiro rejoined the group with a sly smile:

"What a _cute_ couple."

Hebi's eyes widened at the statement. She scowled, blushed, and then became indignant. She huffed to herself, before she narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously:

"That's the smartest thing you've said all day..."

Kitsune had a less colorful reaction. He blinked at him, down at the smiling Hebi, and then back up at him again. He had no expression; instead, he offered a snarky remark:

"I didn't expect puberty to cause mood swings to this extent."

Hiro couldn't bring himself to scowl or smile.

"Hiro," Baymax pipped suddenly, "my scanners indicate that four unknown individuals have entered the vicinity."

The light atmosphere died away.

"One of the said four individuals," the robot continued, "has biological scan data that matches the data of the man named 'Tako'."

Everyone within the vicinity visibly stiffened. Taka's and Hebi's expressions became borderline murderous. Wasabi, on the other hand, became uneasy and wary. Honey Lemon's bright eyes narrowed as did Usagi's dark ones. Fred simply started in confusion. Unbeknownst to the others, dark shadows passed over both Hamada brothers' stolid faces.

"So are we running or fighting?" Wasabi asked lightly. "Because the latter option sounds really good right no—

"Taka." Kitsune cut him off, extending his hand outwards towards the addressed person. "Hand me one your guns. I lost my weapons in the fall."

Taka stared at him for a moment, before he began to pat himself down. Pausing mid-pat, he reached inside his coat, withdrew an object from it, and handed it to the blank-faced man.

"It's name is Iron-Hawk. He's my thirty-second favorite one, so you better not have sweaty a.f. palms."

Kitsune felt the cold steel of the glock fall into his palms. Just looking at the killing item after having been trapped in such an uncontrollable situation caused a shiver ran down his spine. He was in _control_ again. A smirk tugged on his lips which in turn caused his former friends to become uneasy. Hiro had a different reaction.

Evidently not noticing the attention he was receiving, Kitsune unslotted the bullets and counted them. Four. Perfect. It was all that he needed to handle this complication.

Seeing the smirk grow on Kitsune's face, Hiro frowned and stared at him steadily. The emotion that had no name tore through his chest at that moment and escaped his mouth.

"Sierra." He said firmly.

The man immediately froze and stared at the adolescent with widened eyes. Wasabi also froze, and his eyes widened in realization.

"I would be lying if—"

"Maya." Hiro said, even more firmly than before.

He watched as a plethora of emotions flickered across the man's face. Surprise, confusion, irritation, pain, _guilt_. The others watched as well in either surprise, confusion, or understanding.

"Uh…" Fred blinked. "I feel like I missed something here…"

"Stop…" Hiro shook his head in frustration and took an engaging step towards his brother. "Stop living for people who are gone, and start living for yourself! You're obviously in no condition to fight — if you go out there, you'll just be thrown around like a ragdoll! Do you have a death wish or something?!"

"How do you know those names." Kitsune deadpanned darkly, taking a step forward as well — he was only an inch away from the adolescent now. He temporarily side-glanced at Wasabi who was frowning at him.

"They're _dead_, Tadashi!" Hiro pressed, shaking his head. "You need to accept it, let go, and move on—

There was the sound of something clicking into place; and Hiro found himself looking straight down the barrel of a gun. Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred tensed.

"Shut up."

"You—

The barrel of the gun lowered and drifted towards Hiro's shoulder. The tip of it pressed against his armor. Its coldness penetrated the steel and seeped into his skin.

"I said that I couldn't kill you, but I never said that I couldn't hurt you."

But Hiro stared passed the gun and up at him intently.

"'Dashi… _**please**_."

Kitsune's cold eyes widened a fraction of an inch. Confusion and stupor slowly filtered into them.

"Violence will not solve anything, Tadashi." came Baymax's soothing voice. "I ask that you put down your offensive weapon."

Wincing at the tone of the robot's voice, Kitsune reached for his head, grunted, and lowered his gun. His head felt like it was being ripped to shreds. The pounding headache would not die away and neither would the confusion that rocked his mind. He felt like he was in three places at once: a small, warm bedroom lined with numerous scientific posters; an empty white room with low-hanging overhead lights; and where he was now: in the middle of a collapsed building. Before anyone could reach for him, however, Hebi stepped forward and glared at Hiro bitingly.

"Kitsune can do whatever he wants!"

"His name is Tadashi." Hiro shot back equally bitingly. "And he _can't_ do what he wants if what he wants to do is stupid!"

It was strange. Hiro felt like _he_ was the older brother now. Was this the exasperation and irritation Tadashi felt whenever he ran off to bot fight?

"Look here, you little brat." Hebi growled shrilly. "I don't know why you think you can call the shots just because you're related by blood to my Kitsune. Blood connections mean absolutely nothing!"

"Damn." Taka muttered under breath. "I really should have brought my video camera."

"What?" Usagi raised an eyebrow testily. "So you could record a bunch of teenagers fighting over a boy?"

"Should we really be doing this right now?" Wasabi interjected pointedly. "Aren't we about to be hunted down by a crazy octopus guy?"

"It sure means a lot more than the restraining order that he probably has against you!" Hiro shot back.

"Why you…"

Honey Lemon prepared to interject herself into the situation, but was distracted by something that flickered in the corner of her eye. She turned her head in the direction of that flickering and found her eyes widening in fear.

"... Tadashi?"

…

It had started with a sharp throbbing that would not die away. He had simply ignored the pain in his temple at first; but then came the ringing in his ears that he could not ignore. It was high-pitched; and it drilled its undulating wails into the very back of his head. It was so loud that he could not even make out the argument between Hebi and Hiro. Despite this fact, he remained steady. He had been through worse after all. He could bare it. But then—

"_Kitsune, what are you doing?"_

He felt something in his chest twist.

That voice.

His eyes flickered around the premises. Nothing out of the ordinary.

It wasn't real.

What was gone was gone.

"_That's what Knives always says. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't insulted by what you just said, y'know…?"_

Maya…?

A flash of copper hair.

"_What do you expect from a man like him? I told you before, y'know, you shouldn't expect too much from humans." _came a different voice.

No.

Long, sinewy arms glided along his back, before they trailed upwards and wrapped themselves around his chest. They were cold.

Sierra.

No.

"_I would at least have expected you to keep your promise to me. I should have known. I can only rely on myself. "_

Knives.

The sinewy hands that were wrapped around his chest drifted down to the gun he was holding in his hand.

No.

"_Why are you alive, huh?! Why are you alive, while we're all dead?"_

Kai.

No, this wasn't real.

"_It might be a bit much, but I was hoping that you at least would at least fulfill our final wishes… and complete the final mission."_

Chocho.

No, this wasn't real.

"'_Fight and survive'. 'Live for us',"_ came Sierra's hot whispered breath in his ear, "_that's what we asked you to do, isn't it?"_

He could feel her body press against his back; and with that action, the line between reality and delusion became blurred.

What was happening was real. It had to be. They were here.

"_You said that you would keep your promise to us, but look at __**us**_ _now."_

He couldn't discern who was talking anymore. Their voices blended together in his head and became a singular, resonating cacophony.

His hand shook as the pale hand holding it gently caressed it and held it steady.

"_Why are __**we**_ _standing with a bunch of children? A bunch of complications. Look at them."_

He raised his eyes and saw the chaotic scene of Hiro and Hebi biting at each other's necks unfold before him. Their expressions were ablaze; their voices were muffled in his ears, but he could tell that they were heated.

"_They're making us waste our time. Wasting time means death. Therefore, they are trying to kill us."_

"No… That doesn't make any logical sense."

"_Of course it does. So, kill them."_

"No."

A soft muddled voice reached his ears for a moment, before it sank below the depths: "... Tadashi?"

He felt the pale hand grip his own hand tightly; he felt it push his index finger towards the trigger of the gun. And he felt the warm breath by his ear again:

"_Kill them."_

The pain in his temple increased ten-fold. He held his head in pain. The world blurred around him.

"No. It would just create complications."

"_**Complications**__, you say? Isn't their camaraderie a complication? Isn't this a survival situation? You know from experience that humans can't form cohesive groups together without it eventually dwindling into chaos. That's just how society works. It's always society versus the individual, the individual versus nature, the individual versus the self. If we're trapped down here, it's going to be us against them. Kill them before they kill us…. I know that you want to."_

He shook his head roughly as the pale hand cupped his own. With gentle roughness, it guided his arm upwards.

"_That's hilarious. Are you really hesitating?"_

The world sharpened around him again, and he found that he was no longer standing in the dank ruins of a building but in the middle of a white room. It was a white room that was familiar to him. _Of course_, his muddled mind whispered to him, _you never left_.

A girl appeared in front of him. A long rope of black hair, pale skin, and pale eyelids from which thick eyelashes sprouted. She was covered in a red paint that neither hid the the grotesque gash on her throat nor the white smile that glinted on her cheeks.

"_You didn't hesitate when you killed me."_

Screaming, he pulled the trigger.

…

It had all happened so fast. Honey Lemon barely had the time to register the fact that Tadashi was shaking, before she saw him raise his gun with one hand and hold his head with the other. She saw that his dark eyes were not seeing reality but some intangible nightmare. Absolute terror flooded them. She reached out for him, called his name, but it was too late—

— an anguished scream ripped through the air and was swallowed by a cacophonic booming sound. A bullet erupted from the end of the smoke-billowing gun and hurtled towards Hebi's form. The girl turned her dark head with widened eyes just in time to see a flash of a silver-rimmed tip—

— and a flash of purple and red.

Hebi grunted as Hiro tackled her to the ground. Confusion rang in her mind as she lay pinned beneath him. She blinked up at him in stupor while he blinked down at her in stupor. What had just happened?

"Are… you okay?"

"What…?"

"Kitsune!"

Both adolescents scrambled to a stand as realization dawned upon them. They whipped their heads in the direction of where the bullet (that was now embedded in the wall behind them) came from.

"T-Tadashi!"

"What the hell?!"

"Put that thing down!"

"W-What the hell are you doing, man?"

"Calm down!"

The man stood shaking in place with his gun-wielding hand still extended outwards. His other hand was threaded in his matted hair with fingers digging into scalp. His bright eyes were locked onto Hebi's and Hiro's forms, but his gaze was unfocused.

"Woah!" Fred raised his hands above his head. "Come on, bro. Let's not get crazy. I get they were arguing and stuff, but that's no reason to flip the pan handle!" As soon as those words left his mouth, the lax man found himself staring down the barrel of the gun; he tensed immediately and raised his hands higher above his head. "Woah, dude, chill!"

Kitsune squinted at him, shook his head, grimaced, gritted his teeth, and raised the gun. "Stay away from me."

"Dude." Fred drew slowly. "It's me. Fred. And I'm like ten feet away from you."

"... Fred?" Kitsune squinted, gripping his head tighter and grunting in pain.

While this was occurring, Wasabi and Usagi had exchanged hesitant looks and had begun approaching Kitsune from behind. Unfortunately for them, two incidents occurred which warned Kitsune of their presence. Firstly, Fred eyed their approach in an obvious manner. Secondly, the two men simultaneously stepped on sheets of gravel that let out loud crunching whines of protest.

Kitsune turned his dark head at the indications with sharp but unfocused eyes. Wasabi flinched but pushed himself forward and lunged for the gun. He grappled for the man's arm and attempted to steady him enough to remove the weapon from his hand or at least to create an opening for Usagi.

Bang!

A bullet sliced through the air and ricocheted off of the corner of a fallen slab of concrete.

"Get off of me!"

And with that shout, Wasabi found himself soaring through the air. He barely had the time to realize the fact that Kitsune had literally flung him across the room, before he found he found himself colliding with a stray pillar.

"What the _hell_?!"

Pushing his awe of Kitsune's sudden strength to the side, Usagi pounced on the man and attempted to pull back his arms. Another bullet sliced through the air as he called out for assistance.

Bang!

And another one.

Fred, Honey Lemon, and Taka snapped to action; and together they attempted to tackle the disturbed man to the ground. It was to no avail. Drawing on an unseen and inhuman strength, he brushed their attempts off and flung them around the room. Honey Lemon, who had attempted to throw him off balance by tackling his legs, found herself kicked backwards against the concrete. Once she regained her bearings, she found the silver mouth of the shaking gun pointed between her widened eyes.

"T-Tadashi…"

The man stared down at her with a contorted expression. His hand gripping the gun was trembling — no, his entire body was trembling. Sweat beaded his forehead, which he held with his clammy free hand, and trickled down into his unfocused eyes, unfocused eyes that were filled with absolute terror.

Psychosis, was it?

"Tadashi…" Honey Lemon drew calmly with furrowed eyebrows as she slowly pulled herself up into a kneeling position; she stared deeply into his eyes — verdigris clashed with obsidian — and breathed out slowly. "Look at me, Tadashi…"

He visibly winced at the addressed and averted his eyes — no, he wasn't averting his eyes. He was staring at something that she couldn't see.

"Ta—

He shook his head again roughly, dug his fingernails into his scalp. "Shut up."

"Tadashi." She said more firmly, her eyes taking on both hardness and softness at the same time. "You're not... thinking straight."

His head jerked up suddenly; and he gazed past her with glowering eyes. "_Stop_ it."

Honey Lemon blinked at him with furrowed eyebrows. Stop what?

"I don't want to." He continued, his voice cracking and devolving to a whimper. "I don't want to do this."

Hiro, who was standing afar with widened and frightened eyes, came to realize how fragile his brother truly appeared. He came to realize that his brother was not shaking with rage, but with fear. His brother was not wearing a glowering expression but a pained one. And it was not a curtain of indifference that glassed over his brother's eyes but a window of tears.

"If you don't want to," Honey Lemon said suddenly in barely a whisper, as she gazed sharply up into Kitsune's dark eyes, "then _don't_."

Kitsune looked at her. He looked at her and actually _saw_ her. Their gazes connected; and his shaking trembles quieted.

"That's good, Tadashi… Relax."

"I don't have to…" The man whispered almost questioningly under his breath as he lowered the gun. He searched the eyes of the woman kneeling below him for confirmation.

"That's right, Tadashi." Honey Lemon nodded steadily. "You don't have to."

He visibly relaxed at her statement, causing her to sigh in relief. Everything was fine—

—there was a sudden flash of silver; and Honey Lemon — no, everyone within the room — barely had the time to register the man raise the gun to his own temple.

"Tadashi!" Hiro cried as he forced his lead-like legs to move forward. "Stop!"

But it was simply too late. The man pulled the trigger.

…

She had said that it was alright if he didn't do [it] anymore. She must have not known how happy it made him when she had told him those words — he was so happy that he was nearly on the brink of tears.

She had told him that it was okay to stop.

That it was okay to stop [fighting and surviving].

No, that wasn't right.

That it was okay to stop [living for them].

No, that wasn't right either. What she had told it was—

—that it was okay to stop [living].

So, he raised the gun to his head and pulled the trigger. And for a moment, he was free; but in the next, he realized that what rang in his ears was not a loud booming sound but an empty clicking sound.

Empty. Out of bullets. What a waste…?

Anger.

He was angry that he had wasted all his bullets.

Tears of frustration pricked at his eyes and overflowed as he pulled the trigger again and again.

Click. Click.

Damnit.

Click. Click. Click.

It was no use.

His knees quavered and buckled beneath him; and he slid to the ground with the gun still wrapped tightly in both of his hands. Staring at the offensive object, he watched as his tears splattered down onto it. The salty droplets trailed along the grooves and indentations of the gun before they dribbled down onto the concrete floor.

What a pathetic, useless weapon.

It took him several seconds to realize that the tears trailing the gun were not his own. They belonged to the woman — Honey… something? — kneeling in front of him. He didn't have enough strength to lift his head up and acknowledge her (comfort her?).

Suddenly, delicate hands wove their way into his vision and touched his own.

Sierra?!

No. These hands were tanned, warm, gentle. They gently pried away his fingers that were gripping the handle of the gun one-by-one. First went the pinky, then the ring finger, then the middle finger, and finally the index finger that guarded the trigger rigidly.

He watched as the gun drifted out of his loose hands and skidded along the ground. A curtain of blonde hair and verdigris eyes came in between his gaze at the gun. The woman. She peered into his face and smiled faintly (a forced smile) at him.

"Your hands… Tadashi, your hands aren't meant for hurting people. They're meant for saving them."

No. That wasn't true. The only thing that he could do was hurt — kill — people. He was an animal. No, animals were good. He was a monster—

—so why was she — why were they all — looking at him with such kind eyes?

He froze as he felt her gently place a hand on his shoulder.

He didn't deserve it.

Burying his heads in his hands, he cried quietly.

…

Hiro stared motionless at his brother's shaking form that was only a foot away from him. He was not the only one who was frozen in place. In fact, everyone save for his trembling brother were glued to their respective spots. What was going through their minds at this moment, Hiro didn't know. He did, however, know what was flickering like an old movie in the depths of his. His mind was reaching out for an old yet bright memory: his faintly smiling brother lifting him up over a ledge and into a building that was buzzing with noise and excitement. Their first robotics showcase. It was one of the happiest times of his life. Yet…

Yet…

His mind was reeled out of the past into the present: his quietly sobbing brother struggling to grasp the reins of control and sanity in a quiet, desolate building.

Anguish.

Anger.

They would pay. They would pay for what they had done to Tadashi.

Turning his head away from Tadashi's shaking form, Hiro strode over to where Baymax — who had been heatedly and unnoticedly divulging information about Tadashi's deteriorating mental condition and ways to assist him — stood. He opened up a built-in hologram on his wrist-armor and synced it with Baymax's programming with several taps of his hand.

"Hiro—"

"I want you to take care of Tadashi, Baymax," Hiro murmured, turning away from the robot and dragging his hands through his hair, "while the others and I'll take on Tako," he spat out the name with absolute venom, "and the other three. I just synced your scanning-tracking programme with my suit, so we should be able to find them without your help."

"Hiro—"

"Little round," Taka pipped suddenly as he gazed uneasily at Kitsune's still form, "I get you're more pissed than Sasuke was in revenge-mode, but seriously: we should chill our balls and think. Plus, with Kitsune here—-

"You stay too then." Hiro nodded at him. "You can't fight the way you are right now anyways."

Without another word, he brushed past his brother's prostrate form and headed towards the small hole in the wall. Everyone — they were still in slight stupor over the events that had just unfolded — stared after him, stared as he paused by the hole.

"Come on!" He shouted as he turned to face them. "They're this way."

"Hiro…" Honey Lemon murmured with furrowed eyebrows; she slowly and gently removed herself from Tadashi's form and came to a stand. "Let's stop and think for a minute."

"What?" Hiro frowned. "And let them hunt us down one by one?" He gestured towards Kitsune without actually looking at him. "He can't even fend for himself right now. And neither can Taka. It's better to do something — no matter how small and stupid it may seem — than to do nothing."

There was a pause.

"You're right, Hiro." Wasabi nodded shakily as he drew himself up to a stand; he stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Kitsune's still shoulder; he flashed a sad, small smile. "Don't worry, man. We'll look after him for you."

Honey Lemon blinked up at him in surprise, before she nodded firmly and accompanied him to Hiro's side. Fred, after patting Kitsune on the back a certain number of times and belting out something about being with him 'till the end of the line', joined them as well.

"You'll probably need our help too, seeing that the four of them are probably on the formula." Usagi grinned lightly, coming to a stand as well and brushing himself off; he nodded at Hebi who still stood frozen and staring wide-eyed at Kitsune's form. "Isn't that right, snake-girl?"

Hebi started at the address and blinked up at him, before she blinked back down at Kitsune. She nodded slowly and approached Kitsune's side, lingering there with hesitation. She bit her lip as he gave no indication that he had even noticed her presence.

"We're not doing him any good by staying here." Usagi whispered from beside her.

"Yeah…" She nodded with reluctance; she turned her head in Taka's direction. The man was only a foot or so away and gazed back at her with steady eyes. "Taka…"

"Get that Tako bastard for me." Taka nodded at her. "For me, Kitsune, and Hitsuji."

She nodded fiercely with burning eyes, before she turned and strode towards where the others awaited her. Usagi was close on her heels. The two entered the dark hole in the wall first with Fred, Honey Lemon, and Wasabi trailing closely behind them.

Hiro lingered at the cavity and turned his head backwards. He watched as Baymax hobbled forward towards Tadashi's still form, watched as the robot plopped down and drew the man onto his belly, watched as the robot pulled him into a tight hug.

"You'll be better in no time, 'Dashi." He murmured through gritted teeth. "I'll make sure of it."

He turned and followed the others into the hole in the wall. The dark cracks lining the hallway rushed past him and wiped away the tears of anger that leaked from his eyes. Clenching his teeth tightly, he opened the compartment in his suit that he had opened earlier and slid his hand into it. He clenched the object he found there tightly in his hand.

His brother's wakizashi.

What would he do with such a thing?

Make them pay.

* * *

Pain. It was wrapped around his body like the choking thorns of a rose bush.

Kitsune blinked groggily.

Where was he?

… on the floor?

No. He was laying on something soft. Something familiar.

"...Baymax."

"Tadashi, I am glad that you are awake." Came the familiar drone. "You're endorphine levels have dropped significantly and have fell to a reasonably safe and healthy count."

Kitsune started immediately and shot up to a sitting position. The world swam around him, and the spinning nearly sucked out his breath; but he forced his heavy breathing to calm and carefully observed his surroundings.

Gray slabs of concrete. Gray everything. Nothing unfamiliar or out of the ordinary. He blinked downwards and met Baymax's gaze. He was sitting on the robot — or so he concluded.

"Yo, Kitsune."

Lowering his dark head, the man registered Taka's hesitant expression below him. The man sat beneath him with his hands folded behind his head.

"Are..." Taka tried. "Are you okay?"

"Tell me what happened." Kitsune demanded coolly as he slid off of Baymax's belly despite the latter's warnings.

Taka froze, before he lifted his head, and studied Kitsune carefully. "You don't remember?"

"If I did I wouldn't be asking you." Kitsune responded testily, placing a hand on his hip. "Now tell me."

"Remember how I was earlier before you bitch-slapped me?"

"I would be lying if I said that I could forget a display like that."

"Well," Taka frowned, "you were like that but ten times worse."

There was a pause of silence.

"The others."

"Off to handle Tako-the-douche." Taka replied matter-of-factly, an irritable expression fluttering across his face as he uttered the name. "Your brother — I think — told us to stay put here. And I don't want to snap and be bitch-slapped to next Sunday again, so I'm chill with it."

Irritation flared up inside of him at the said phrase.

"Let's see how well they handle situation." Kitsune muttered thoughtfully to himself, before his expression hardened; he turned to Taka and spoke with a firm voice. "And I don't have a brother."

"A bro is a bro, bro." Taka frowned at him, a strange look crossing his usually blank face. "You can't just un-bro someone. This ain't facebook. It's the real side."

"Tadashi, your scan data indicates that you are indeed Hiro's brother." Baymax inputted as he wobbled to a stand.

"Stop calling me that." Kitsune grimaced with a wince.

"It is the name you requested for me to address you by the first time you started up my system." Baymax informed him.

"Tadashi started you up." Kitsune muttered with a dark and chilling glare. "Not me."

"Are you seriously arguing with a robot?" Taka sighed. "Cause, last time I checked, robots beat humans and take over the world."

"You're biological scan data indicates that you are indeed Tadashi Hamada." Baymax insisted.

"This may be Tadashi Hamada's body," Kitsune agreed, taking on an air of indifference, "but I am not Tadashi. Tadashi is dead."

"Tadashi is here."

Kitsune turned slowly and gazed at the robot steadily. His expression was unreadable. "It must be broken."

"I heard from that dude Fred that you were a computer genius or something." Taka drew in a light tone, hopping to a stand stretching; he pointed offhandedly at Baymax. "Maybe you could do some fine tuning or something."

"I'm not sure whether or not you're mocking me." Kitsune deadpanned. "If you are..." His eyes narrowed as he trailed off. His attention was captured by Baymax's innocently blinking gaze.

"I am not broken." Baymax finally continued, after having patiently listened to the back and forth between the two men. "I am fully functional. Additionally, I would like to inform you that I am concerned with Hiro's current state of mind. His levels of—"

"Just because you are concerned," Kitsune said pointedly and coolly, betraying the strange twinge that he felt in his chest, "doesn't mean that I am. Don't waste my time telling me something trivial."

"But you are the one who programmed me to scan and track the physical and mental health of my respective owner, Tadashi." Baymax informed him. "Would you like me to—

"I told you to stop calling me that." Kitsune repeated, gazing steadily at the robot. "I am not Tadashi. That man is dead."

There was a pause of silence, before—-

"Tadashi is here."

—and something within the man's mind clicked into place.

Kitsune bit his lip and strode towards the robot; he came to a stop an inch or so away from the thing and fixed on it a look of cold apathy.

"Stop…" He growled through gritted teeth; he glared into what he deemed were the robot's eyes. "Stop saying that!"

From what he had heard and understood, Tadashi Hamada had been a benevolent, kind, caring, and slightly head-in-the-clouds individual. The man had friends, family, dreams — everything. And he, Kitsune, had killed the man with his very own two hands. He was something that had simply adorned Tadashi's skin.

He was something vile. He didn't deserve to be compared to someone who was loved. And yet at the same, through all of the self-loathing, he didn't want to be compared to the man because of his own sense of pride. He was his own person. He was Kitsune.

A flickering clash of colors and light flashed below him; and he allowed his attention to be drawn away by it. The dizzying flickering originated from Baymax's belly and was followed shortly by a buzzing audio feed.

For a moment, Kitsune thought he was staring into a mirror. Right before him on the screen (the mirror?) was his reflection who stared back at him with wide eyes. But then that reflection smiled brightly; and Kitsune realized that it was, in fact, not a reflection at all. It was a fragment of the past. The man started at this realization but could not remove his eyes from the screen.

"This is Tadashi Hamada." His reflection (his past?) introduced himself in an excited voice with a wide smile. "And this is the very first test of my robotics project."

Kitsune watched as Tadashi reached for something behind whatever camera was recording his actions. A soft click resonated from Baymax's speakers followed by a familiar introduction:

"Hello, I am Baymax—"

A loud whining sound interrupted the introduction, causing Tadashi to wince visibly and reach for whatever he had been reaching for earlier all the while shouting a repeated mantra of 'Stop! Stop! Stop!'.

"Wow," Taka commented offhandedly as he peered into a screen, "what a nerd."

Kitsune punched him in the gut without a second thought and returned his attention to the screen where a new recording soon appeared. He watched as Tadashi went through failed trial after failed trial; he watched as the young man became visibly exhausted and tired as the trials dragged on, yet remained overall optimistic and hopeful. Kitsune didn't understand it. Why try so hard when it evidently appeared so fruitless?

"I'm not giving up on you." Tadashi murmured softly, his face illuminated by the flashlight held in his hand. "You don't understand this yet, but people need you. So, let's get back to work."

Damnit.

Just give up already. It was annoying — seeing the man with such a happy expression.

A new recording started.

"This is Tadashi Hamada…" Tadashi sighed on the screen as he rubbed the back of his neck. "This is… uh… the eighty-fourth test…" He glanced upwards and reached for a button that was beyond the screen. "What do you say, big guy?"

"Hello, I am Baymax." came the familiar introduction. "I am your personal healthcare companion."

Tadashi started wide-eyed at the introduction, before he murmured quietly: "It works…" His eyes widened-further; and he threw his hands up into the air and repeatedly shouted: "It works! It works!"

"What a nerd." Taka repeatedly once more, hiding a snicker.

Kitsune simply ignored him this time.

"This is amazing!" Tadashi continued, looping in a circle with a smile. "You work!" He ran to the screen and kissed it, causing both Taka and Kitsune to visibly blanch.

"Don't say anything," Kitsune drew darkly, "or I'll cut your tongue off."

"I knew it! I knew it! I knewww it!"

_This was embarrassing_, Kitsune concluded. _But at the same time… It was… inspiring…?_

Kitsune watched as Tadashi requested Baymax to scan him which the robot successfully did.

"Aw, man," Tadashi grinned as he approached the screen again with a satisfied smile, "wait until my brother sees you…"

Kitsune froze, clenching his fists tightly.

"You're going to help so many people, buddy… So many." He continued with a sigh. "That's all for now. I am satisfied with my care."

Damnit.

The screen flickered off, leaving Kitsune to stare at white blankness. He glared at this blankness with anger — no, not anger. He glared at it with defeat. He raised his clenched fist and pressed it lightly against Baymax's chest as he rested his dark head against it as well.

Swallowing a grimace, he blinked blankly down at the concrete floor. He recalled the pained and hopeful expressions of Tadashi's friend's as his face became revealed to them. He recalled their comforting and ensuring words that did not stop when they were met by his own harsh and cold comments. They deserved to have their friend back, didn't they?

And Hiro…

Kitsune's eyebrows furrowed as he recalled the adolescent's snarkiness, his firmness, his insistence that his big brother return home. The kid deserved his brother back, didn't he?

But, if he were to become Tadashi Hamada again, what would happen to Kitsune? What would happen to all of the experiences and people Kitsune encountered?

He would never admit it; but he actually enjoyed the miniscule times of pleasant and peace he had with the others. With Usagi, Hebi, Neko, Ookami, Taka, Sasori, Hitsuji — no. He clenched his fists tightly but kept his expression smooth. Hitsuji was dead. The kid was dead because of him.

What would happen to all of those experiences — the happy and the painful — if he regained his memories as Tadashi? If he regained them, would Kitsune disappear? Die, even?

The thought of such a thing brought a strange emotion to the man's chest. An emotion that he hadn't felt in a very long time. It took him several long seconds to realize that the emotion was _fear_. He was scared…?

Suddenly, Kitsune felt large and soft hands pull him into a comforting embrace.

"My scanners indicate that you are experiencing high levels of fear and stress." Baymax stated, hugging the man tighter. "Comfort and care is recommended."

As the hug tightened around him, Kitsune found himself reminiscing the many times Hiro and the others embraced him. He remembered Fred's awkward hold, Hebi's cling. And then, he remembered the first time Hiro hugged him. He remembered how tight and desperate and tear-filled that hug was; and he remembered how he had kicked the boy away like nothing. He then brought to mind Hiro's latest embrace. He thought of the boy's soft, gentle, reassuring, nostalgic demeanor. He thought of the boy's tearful apology.

Damnit. That _knucklehead_.

"Baymax," Kitsune murmured calmly as he pulled away from the robot, "look after Taka for me."

The latter man started and frowned. "What are you…?"

"I'm going after them." Kitsune answered firmly, turning on his heels and darting towards the gaping hole in the wall. "Stay here and don't die. Or I'll kill you."

"Kitsune!" Taka blanched. "Wait!"

The man ignored him and focused on the objective before him. The crack in the wall. But then—

—there was a flash of copper hair.

Standing right by the entrance in the wall was a smirking Sierra. She was leaning against the wall behind her with crossed arms and a tilted head. Her smirk widened as she saw his eyes widen.

"_Where are you going, Kitsune?"_

He gritted his teeth and ran towards her—

"_You should let those pawns whittle down the enemy." _She smiled, toying with her curls distractedly. "_There will be less complications and more chances of survival this wa—_

— and he ran right past her, cutting her off short. As he passed her by, he saw her own eyes widen and her smirk falter. And then he plunged into the darkness of the hall. A soft whispered voice echoed behind him as he ran. Maya's voice — sad, but acknowledging:

"Liar…"

* * *

"They're just up ahead." Hiro whispered quietly under his breath as he pressed his back up against the wall behind him. "Four in all."

He leaned forward and peered into the room that lay beyond the hallway. Said room extremely large and was in much worse condition than the rooms they had encountered previously. Toppled pillars dotted the area like weeds. The ceiling above was almost non-existent. Light filtered down through it; and it served as the entryway for a cool draft.

"The way outta here." Hiro murmured with a smirk, before he studied the room further.

Half of the floor had given away into a seemingly eternal abyss. Standing by the very edge of this abyss was a group of four men. They were all dressed in formal suits that were inverted in color. Hiro identified Tako among them and found himself biting his lip so hard that it began to bleed.

A quiet beeping sound emanated from the hologram that glowed at his wrist; and he pulled backwards. "One of them is headed this way."

He signaled the others to back away. They obliged without much complaint; and he followed suit. Together they watched through the haze of darkness as one of the suited men entered the hall. They listened as his footsteps echoed along the corridor.

"Now." Hiro whispered.

Honey leapt to a stand from her crouch, reached into her chemical purse, and threw a compound at the man. The circular object collided with the man's confused expression, before it exploded outwards in a cloud of pink. When the colored cloud cleared, the man's face which was webbed over by a thick concrete-like substance was revealed to them.

The man stumbled backwards with a muffled scream, before he found his feet entangled by silver wires. He barely had the time to register Hebi's smirking expression before he was pulled off of his feet and dragged towards the quietly hiding group. Usagi quickly and efficiently knocked the man out with a strike to the neck.

"He's… normal?" Usagi frowned.

"Ugh!" Hebi hissed in annoyance, as she hopped to a stand. "Doing it this way is just too slow! Let's just go out there and rip out their throats!"

"Dude," Fred raised an eyebrow at her, "chil—"

A shadow suddenly passed over him, cutting him off short. His wide-eyed gaze rose to the towering (and not to mention well-dressed) figure who rose before him. The man must have somehow overhead the commotion and sneaked up on them while they were apprehending the other man.

"Uh," Fred swallowed, "hi."

"Damnit!" Hebi hissed, reaching out for her knife. "So much for nice and quiet!"

"Targets found." The man glowered down at them. "Bos—"

An explosion of red erupting from his very own chest prevented him from completing the call. The man, as well as those who stood before him, stared uncomprehendingly as a hand waved at them from the hole inh is chest. The red-stained hand retracted; and the man fell forward on the ground. In his place stood another suit-wearing figure who wore an easy smile.

Hiro couldn't tell what was stranger: the figure's appearance or his demeanor (he had literally stabbed a whole through a man's chest afterall). It was difficult to tell whether the figure was male or female. Zhis cheekbones were prominent, zhis pale lashes long, and zhis chin pointed. Ze had curly, platinum blonde hair with zhis bangs tied up into a strange and small ponytail above zhis head. The tips of zhis hair looked as if they had been dyed blue by Kool-aid. Ze was lanky and slender but somewhat short in stature.

The figure stared down at the group in stupor as they stared up at zhim in equal stupor. The figure then blinked down at the man whom ze had downed, before zhis eyes widened and ze smacked zhis forehead with both of zhis hands:

"Ah!" Ze screeched as ze ruffle ruffled zhis hair. "I messed up!" Ze pointed down to Hiro and the others. "It's _those_ guys," Ze then pointed down at the profusely bleeding man, "not _this_ guy! I am so sorry, friend!" Ze bent down to zhis knees and shook the bleeding man fiercely; zhis blue eyes were torrenting a waterfall of tears. "Stay with me, friend! Stay with me! Ah! No! He's gone!"

"Dude…" Fred drew.

"My name is not 'Dude'!" Ze person screeched as ze hopped to a stand; ze slammed zhis bloodied hand against zhis chest. "Saru (*)! My name is Saru! Saru! Saru! Saru!" Ze paused and looked down at zhis red-stained suit with widened and tearful eyes. "Ah! My suit! My suit is ruined!" Ze lifted zhis hands and buried zhis face in them and let out a startling sob.

"What the…" Hebi grimaced. "Crazy-ass freak!"

The person known as Saru froze at the insult and lifted zhis head. A smirk grew through zhis haze of tears.

"Hebi!" Wasabi hissed as he smacked her arm.

"You!" Saru shouted, pointing squarely at Hiro's face and causing him to blanch. "You just called me an ass! I am more than just an ass! You demeaning, sexist pig!"

"Wha—"

Before Hiro could even finish his sentence, Saru grabbed him by the scruff and flung him out of the hallway and into the room.

"Hiro!"

The adolescent skidded across the cracked floor — somehow managing to dodge the many pillars that were strewn across it while he was at it — and skidded to a stop at the center of the room. He scrambled to a stand just in time to see a madly crying (and laughing?) Saru charge at him at an inhuman speed. Before Saru could reach the adolescent however, ze found zhimself being restrained by metal wires that seemed to have emerged from nowhere.

"Ah!" Saru cried. "I've been caught! In a web... like a fry? A french fry? Fly?! No! No! No! It hurts!" Letting out an inhuman screech, ze yanked on the wires holding zhim and pulled a startled Hebi who was holding the other end of the wire out from the darkness. Using zhis body as an axis, ze spun her around at a neck-breaking speed that forced her to release her hold on her end of the wire. The action caused her to fly backwards and to collide with a stray pillar behind her.

"Hebi!" Hiro shouted.

"I'm fine!" She grunted. "Just get him!"

And just as if her words were a catalyst, Honey Lemon, Fred, Wasabi, and Usagi emerged from the dark hallway and began their offensive onslaught on Saru. Saru, however, brushed them off like flies. Ze dodged Honey Lemon's chemical compounds and Fred's flames; and ze tossed Wasabi and Usagi around like they were ragdolls; and ze did this all while crying zhis eyes out:

"Sad, sad, sad! This is so sad! I'm getting bullied! It's like a Shakes-and-pear play!"

"It's called Shakespeare!" Wasabi shouted as he lunged at the man with his blades again. "Shakespeare!"

Hiro stared in disbelief at the one-sided battle that was unfolding before him. His friends were getting brutally beaten. There had to be a way to solve this problem quickly and efficiently and without any casualties —

— a soft and amused chuckle echoed from behind him, cutting his thoughts in two. Turning his head, Hiro found himself staring with widened eyes at a pleasantly relaxed Tako. The man's light smile burned into the adolescent's retina and seared into his brain.

This man.

This bastard.

Hiro bit his lip again and clicked open the compartment at his side. He reached down into it and wrapped his fingers around the object that was stored within it. The hilt of the wakizashi felt rough and ridged in his hands. Glaring at the man through a blur of hateful tears, he whipped out the blade and charged at him with a blood-curdling scream.

The man would pay. The man would pay.

Such an endless mantra buzzed in the adolescent's head as his surroundings passed him in a haze. He was five feet away from his target now — no, four feet. No, three feet. No, two. No, one—

— but he froze in place then and there. Tako stared at him, his surprised expression becoming amused.

Hiro couldn't understand. There the man who was one of the many catalyst to his brother's downward spiral stood several feet before him; and here was his brother's wakizashi held firmly in his hands. Yet… Why… Why was he standing motionless with shaking hands? Did he not have enough conviction? Did he not care about his brother enough? No, that couldn't be! Was his fear too powerful? Were his morals…?

"_They're just ideals and opinions anyways."_

New found determination burned inside his chest; and he gripped the handle of the blade tightly as he broke out into a dash—

"_You're better than this."_

— and he froze again with the blade's tip only inches away from Tako's chest. His eyes widened at his own actions… What was he doing?

"Ah! That's unfortunate! I'm disappointed." Tako sighed with a smile, before he swept Hiro off of his feet and grabbed the adolescent by the neck; he held the boy high in the air and spoke loudly to those in the area. "Time for your story to end!"

"Hiro!" Someone cried in the background.

And the adolescent was flung into the air. The floor's edge disappeared from beneath him and an abysmal blackness appeared around him.

He was falling.

Again.

He blinked in stupor at Tako's smiling expression as air whipped madly at his face. And then, he watched as that stupor melded into utter shock.

"Fox?!"

A flash of white.

And Hiro found himself being pulled into a tight embrace.

"Tadashi?!"

"Shut up, you idiot."

And the two brothers hurtled downwards.

The wind nipped at his eyes again (or was he simply crying his eyes out?); and Hiro was forced to squeeze them shut. He started as the embrace around him tightened—

— and then there was a jolting thud that shook him out of his stupor. They had landed on the floor. Rather, Hiro had landed on top of Kitsune. The man had broken his fall.

_Just like old times, _Kitsune thought vaguely with a wince as he watched Hiro lift his head up and stare down at him in confusion. Adorable. He reached up slowly and hesitantly and ruffled the boy's hair with a forced smile (the boy had forced so many smiles for him, afterall). Hiro gaped at the gesture and shook his head in disbelief.

"Knucklehead, never do something so stupid again. I would punch you if I could."

"Tadashi?" The adolescent stuttered hesitantly as his lips flickered upwards. "Ta—" His words were caught in his throat as he felt warm wetness seep onto his fingertips. His eyes widened in realization and horror; and he pulled himself away from his brother's hold and stared downwards. "No… I didn't…"

A large puddle of blood pooled below Hiro's shaking fingertips; and the adolescent blinked uncomprehendingly down at the man who lay beneath him and at the wakizashi that was embedded at the center of this pool in the man's stomach.

"Congratulations, kid. You managed to kill me after all."

"No!" Hiro shook his head as burning tears ate away at his eyes; his shaking fingertips reached for the blade but then retracted. "No, I didn't mean to!" With trembling lips, he lifted his head and shouted loudly to those above him, so loudly that his throat felt like his throat was being ripped in two. "Help! Someone, please! Baymax! He—

He was cut off short as an arm snaked over and around his waist and as a hand lightly touched the back of his head. The hand pulled his head downwards, while the arm arm tightened around him and pulled his entire body downwards as well. A hug. The first hug that he had received from his brother in almost a year. A hug that he missed _desperately_.

"It's... fine." Kitsune murmured tiredly.

Hiro's eyes widened; and he shook his head roughly, using all of his strength to try and rip free from the man's grasp and claw his way towards help, towards a way to _save_ his brother somehow. The man, however, was too strong. "Nii-san, what are you doing?! You—

"Otouto." Kitsune continued, before he nodded. "Yeah. That sounds right. And this feels right too."

"Nii-san…" Hiro whimpered, shaking his head and shaking the tears from his eyes; his energy suddenly dissipated and his struggling ceased. Instead, his entire body began to become wracked with sobs. "_Please…_"

"A showcase…" Kitsune spoke suddenly, as he wove his fingers into Hiro's hair and continuously brushed the bushy strands back (it felt like a strange old habit). "After tousan(**) and kaasan(***) died…"

Hiro closed his eyes and allowed the familiar stroking to calm his nerves. When he had been younger, Tadashi had always run his hands through his hair like this whenever he (Hiro) had been anxious or scared. The habit had died away when Hiro had reached the age of ten per Hiro's own request, but he decided not to bring this fact up. He had always secretly missed it anyways.

"...I took you to a showcase … a robotics showcase… to cheer you up… well, to cheer me up too… right?"

Hiro bit his lip and buried his head into Kitsune's chest. The man's shirt soaked up the salty tears that stung his eyes and the cuts and scrapes on his face. He breathed in deeply, allowing his brother's familiar scent to cloud his mind. Melancholy."Y-Yeah…"

"Hamada..." Kitsune tried slowly, his voice cracking. "H-Hamada Brothers Robotics? Was that it…?"

"Yeah…" Hiro whimpered, grabbing fistfuls of his brother's shirt in his shaking hands. "Nerdy, huh? Aunt Cass was _so_ not happy when we… when we made Mochi fly…"

"Aunt Cass?" Kitsune asked questioningly in a strained voice, his breathing becoming labored. "Mochi?"

"You don't remember them?" Hiro whispered, listening to the steady beat of his brother's chest.

Thump. Thump-thump. Thump. Thump-thump.

_That's right_, Hiro thought, _you're __**alive**__, Tadashi._

"Vaguely…" Kitsune replied quietly, swallowing a pained grunt. "Coffee…?"

"Close enough." Hiro forced a laugh.

"Sorry…"

"No," Hiro shook his head. "No, it's not your fault, Tadash—"

The hug around him tightened, and it trembled. It took several seconds for Hiro to realize that his brother was holding back bitter tears.

"No. I'm sorry, Hiro." Kitsune whispered, biting his lip. "I am so, _so…" _His voice cracked again. "...sorry. To everyone… to you… I was…"

"It's okay, 'Dashi." Hiro whispered reassuringly. "It's okay… You can apologize for your jerkiness when you come home, okay?"

"... Yeah." The hug tightened.

There was a pause. A serene pause.

The light that filtered through the open ceiling above them swallowed them up quietly. The distant echoes of clashing above them seemed like but a memory.

"I'm… scared, Hiro."

The adolescent froze in confusion. Scared? He was prepared to chase after the statement with a question when he suddenly felt the arms around his waist loosen and the hand shifting through his hair stop.

There was silence. Absolute silence.

No.

Hiro's heart stopped in his chest, his tears freezing in his eyes. "Ta… dashi?"

He lifted his head and felt the hand on his head slide off; he watched out of the corner of his eyes as it hit the ground with a soft thud. His ears rang loudly to the deafening silence that followed.

_No._

"Nii-san!" He scrambled to all fours and gazed down unfocused at his brother's face. His brother's eyes were closed, his face pale and streaked with transparent wetness. Droplets of salt dripped down from the adolescent's eyes onto the man's still face — his _face_, not his mask. They slid down the paleness and splattered onto the ground.

With shaking hands, Hiro reached down and gently touched his brother's cheek.

Cold.

"N…"

He was cold.

_No_.

Not _again_.

"N-Nii-san… please… wake up…! "

Nothing.

This was all his fault.

Hiro shook his brother gently in disbelief.

"C… Come on."

He shook his brother roughly in anguish.

Nothing.

"You can't die! You can't give up now! Not when you're _you_ again!"

Hiro's vision began to blur so much that he could not see anymore; but he forcefully blinked the tears away. Reaching for his brother's arm, the younger Hamada attempted to pull it over his shoulder and come to a stand; but the weight of his brother was too much for him, and he fell backwards.

"Come on!"

He tried again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

"_Damnit_!"

And again.

Falling each and every time.

Finally, he managed both to come to a stand and to sling his brother's arm over his shoulder. Together, with Hiro supporting Tadashi's weight, they moved forward. But the motion caused a malady: a long web of blood dripped down from Tadashi's wound to the floor. Hiro's tear-brimmed eyes widened in absolute terror at this sight, but he swallowed his sobs and held his brother's arm firmly.

"Nii-san, people _need_ you! I need you! You can't… You _can't_ die!"

* * *

(*) Saru = Monkey

(**) tousan = dad

(***) kaasan = mom

* * *

**A/N: **

Welp, that's all for this fic!

I'm done with it!

x

Lol, jk.

* * *

Next Chapter: Fushin (不振)

∟ "Stagnation"

"Three weeks had passed since the incident; and the days that followed became strangely familiar to Hiro. They became like the oriental rug that hung at the mantle place: an endless dull pattern.

He would start the day by waking up earlier and visiting the hospital. He would then go to school, complete all of his classes. After visiting the hospital one more time, he would head home. Afterwards, he would crack open one of the many psychology textbooks he had checked out from the university's library and try to read it all in one go. Then, he would start sketching and planning and designing the invention he had been working on since two weeks prior. Finally, he would lay in bed and recall that day. He would recall the day he had killed Kitsune.

…

'Listen, your Kit's brother, right? Right. The Doubutsu formula is based on three factors: physiology and biology, intelligence, and psychological profile. Kit was an extremely successful candidate of the trial; and extreme success is very rare. The dogs runnin' the show will do anything to get their hands on success. You've obviously got the brains; and seeing that you're Kit's bro, you've the physiology and biology thing down too... Look, what I'm saying is that you shouldn't get involved with this anymore. For both your sake and Kit's.'

...

Hiro was in a field of red flowers. Red spider lilies.

A dream? Maybe.

There was a fox there with him."

* * *

**A/N**: Oh my god. This chapter was actually kind of painful to write. Both emotionally and physically. After this chapter or maybe the next one (?), the chapters are going to be a bit lighter and a bit shorter…. I think.

Man, there are a lot of accidental stabbings in this fic. And mental breakdowns. There's going to be quite a lot flower symbolism in the next chapter, so /winkwonk.

Oh! A few people have requested for me to divulge the animals' ages, so here you go:

Hebi - 14

Hitsuji - 16

Kitsune - 18

Taka - 19

Saru - 21

Tako - 24

Sasori - 25

Ookami - 27

Usagi - 30

Anyways, thanks to all those who read, followed, and favorited!

A big bout of hugs and kisses goes out to —

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Many thanks!

Sabeloid: Herm… I wonder. c; Let's see~ Suspense is my thing xD.

teengens: Oh! How did you think the trial was going to play out? And many thanks for the compliments! And yes, I did the thing! /sad, evil laugh thing.

TadashiFan: Poor Hiro indeed v-v. /offers you a Baymax for comfort? And I appreciate the compliments! o u o

Darkx143: Ack! I'm sorry! /offers tissues. A moment of silence for Maya and Knives v-v.

Random Reader 17: Happy birthday to you, friend! Think of this chapter as a late b-day present for you! More depressing stuff in this chapter though, I'm afraid v o v.

2yuki7: Thank you much! Hiro is kind of on the borderline edge of hiroism and anti-hiroism right now. His actions from now will be… er… well… Here's an update!

reclused-cat: /puts a hand on your shoulder. I am sorry, friend.

skydancerfyremagyk: Ah! /offers you a bunch of Baymaxes and tissues. I'm sorry, friend! The feels will be slightly less in future chapters! /eats cookies. They're very good! /offers you some cookies as well!

Tony18: Thank you much!

Anon: Mm… Well, if I said that I shipped TadaHoney, I would have to say that I ship TadaGogo and other shippings as well. I am honestly very unbiased when it comes to shipping.

TerribleTerrors: Aw, thanks! c;. I put the ages of the animals up there for you! And I love you to the moon and back too u 3 u!

reclused-cat: Well, we'll see what happens to Tadashi in the next chapter… Poor Tako. He receives so much hate, buuut he kind of does deserve it. He really does actually.

D2143: Many thanks! ;D

Shoyzz: Thanks c;. It was a painful scene to write tbh. And your hope has come true! Unfortunately, watching the video made Tadashi do a selfless, life-threatening thing again. But then again, at least he managed to save Hiro

Producciones Escudo: xDD. Agreed.

One Bright Light: I would be lying if I said that I wasn't smiling and blushing because of your compliments right now. A moment of silence for Maya v-v. I'm glad that you chose to read my fanfic in one go though! Here's an update for you!

Artemis173: That was actually a very inspiring line ;o!

Guest (1): Thank you much o u o! You're too kind v o v. I try to be as unbiased as I can mostly because I really like the dynamic relationship the characters in the movie had. (I'm glad you like my OCs too. Unfortunately, it looks like Hitsuji is v-v…) And no, it's not rude at all! I was actually inspired by the manga of Tokyo Ghoul more than the anime, but yes. I was definitely inspired by it! I have to admit that it was well done in the anime though ;o. cảm ơn bạn!

FanGirlJen: Ah, I see. Many thanks for your encouragement! It means a lot o u o! And yes, yes I am vietnamese ;3.

hy0rinlove: Poor Hiro bb just needs a big hug o n o. You're right about the glue thing v-v. Tadashi just needs a hug too. Everyone needs a hug, damnit! Tadashi remains Tadashi even when he goes through mental and physical trauma v-v. Lol, that's funny about the historical fiction project thing. I guess writing something tragic is more fun than writing something that's pleasant xD. (And it's fine! I actually enjoyed your story!). Hmm… Still deciding about the happy or tragic ending thing tbh. And actually there is one more reason Hebi is indebted to Hiro (aside from the bullet thing) which'll be revealed in the next chappie.

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Thank you /blushes profusely. o u o. Thank you much! That means so much to me! o u o

Banana Gun: Well, what happens to Tadashi will be revealed in the next chappie. Many thanks for your compliments and input!

Fuhji poudes-Escapa non: Many thanks! And yes, a moment of silence for the departed v-v. Knives was pretty badass. … And, as for Tadashi and his Kitsune persona… I can't reveal anything about that or I'll spoil basically the entire story. And about the Tadashi and Honey Lemon and Gogo thing.. there isn't going to be that much shipping in this fic. Just intense friendship. Take it as you see it. Hebi and Usagi are a-okay as you can see; and Neko and Gogo will show in the chapter; and Ookami is not dead. She's just really badly knocked out. Thanks for your concern! Bye!

Salve-SiS: Your hope has been granted! I hope that Baymax-Tadashi scene was enjoyable for you! And you're right, the Hamada bros really do deserve a happy ending, but… Ack. My sadism. As for Hebi meeting Tadashi's original personality…. That's a plot point actually. /winkwonk. Many thanks for the compliments, friend!

Little. Ruky: o u o. Thanks! I was actually somewhat inspired per say by the Kaneki scene tbh. (and you're right. the poor innocent bbs were just too pure for this world.) Thank you for your input and compliments!

FANFICS4LIFE: Thanks! ;D. /hugs.

MangaMan9000: It's fine! Life takes precedence over fanfiction! Thanks for your input as always! It was actually kind of painful but at the same time enjoyable to write Tadashi's transformation scene. /nodnod. Tbh, I was cheering on Tadashi when I was writing his revenge scene too v-v. And nope! I actually see Hebi's and Hiro's relationship the same way, lol XD. Thank you for the compliments! Have a nice day too, friend!

Rabeden: Yeah. I was kind of inspired by the manga version of Kaneki's torture more so than the anime, but yas nonetheless. Poor bbs didn't do anything wrong. They were just too pure for this world o n o.

\- for reviewing!

290 reviews?! You guys are too kind o u o.


	16. Stagnation

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Sixteenth Encounter: _Fushin (不振)

∟"Stagnation"

* * *

Three weeks had passed since the incident; and the days that had followed became strangely familiar to Hiro. They became like the oriental rug that hung at the mantle place in the cafe: an endless, dull pattern.

He would start the day by waking up early and visiting the hospital. He would then go to school, complete all of his classes, and visit the hospital once more before returning home. Afterwards, he would crack open one of the many psychology textbooks he had checked out from the university's library and try to read it all in one go. Then, he would start sketching and planning and designing the invention he had been working on since two weeks prior. Finally, he would lay in bed and recall that day. He would recall the day he had killed Kitsune.

This day was no different. Or so he thought.

His dark eyes cracked open as soon as light filtered in through the drawn shades in his room. Without skipping a beat, he reached over to his bed-stand and switched off his alarm clock just as it flickered from 4:59 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Rising from his bed, he stared across his room and towards the open shoji sliding doors that rested at the center of the premises. The shadowy outline of a made bed and a set desk that were not his own met his eyes.

He sighed and forced himself to a stand. The floorboards creaked noisily beneath him and continued to creak as he crossed the room. He swept past the sliding door and entered the interconnected, pseudo-room that belonged in to his older brother. He flicked on the lights and watched as the shadowy outlines became concrete pieces of furniture.

Frowning, he trailed his fingertips along the desk that sat next to the made bed and rubbed his fingers together. A thin film of dust. Mechanically, he reached below the desk for the duster. He gripped it tightly in his hand and tried his best to ignore the sudden overwhelming nausea that he felt—

— he was gripping the wakizashi tightly in his hands. Red leaked down from its silver edge onto his hands and dripped down onto the floor. Where was this redness leaking from

His obsidian slates flickered upwards; and they reflected the man who stood before him.

"Congratulations, kid. Looks like you managed to kill me after all."

_No_—

Hiro, swallowing the bile that had risen in his throat, let out a shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut. The image of the red-stained remained burned in his irises even beneath his eyelids. Sighing, Hiro sank into the bed behind him and stared at the duster with furrowed eyebrows. He squeezed the object tightly in his hands — so tightly that his knuckles became a milky white color.

"What use is this anyways?"

Silence answered him. Baymax was still charging afterall.

"Hiro!" came a sudden echoing call from below. "Time to go!"

The adolescent jumped at the sudden call and rose to his feet. He paused there for a moment glancing back and forth between the duster in his hands and the desk. The next moment saw to him quickly and efficiently swiping the wooden surface off with the duster and tossing the thing beneath the desk.

"Coming, Aunt Cass!"

* * *

Gogo tapped her foot impatiently as she gripped the steering wheel. Her irritated eyes reflected the endless line of cars before her.

She was going to be late.

Being late — that was what had caused this entire predicament. She had been too late. She had been too late three weeks earlier, too late at arriving at the abandoned building with Neko at her side, too late to save her best friend Tadashi Hamada. She bit her lip and gritted her teeth as she recalled the day—

…

The moon was busily painting the dark blue sky with a silver light by the time they had arrived at the designated area. The silver color blanketed the toppled gargantuan slabs of concrete that rose before the two women.

"Would ya look at that," Neko raised eyebrow as she studied the barely recognizable structure that lay toppled before her, "it's still here."

"What do you mean 'still here'?" Gogo seethed, whipping her helmet off and taking several steps forward; she gestured at the rubble widely. "There's _nothing_ here."

Neko held up an index finger and tilted her head. _Listen_.

Gogo glowered at her but complied nonetheless. At first, she heard nothing but the symphonic overture of crickets that were lingering nearby despite the growing cold. Then, she heard it: metallic clashing, loud thuds, and a resonating wail.

"Shakespeare! It's called Shakespeare!"

She recognized the voice immediately.

"Wasabi!" Gogo shouted with widened eyes.

She sped forward, climbing and stumbling over large blocks of concrete, and headed towards the source of the sounds. Neko stumbled behind her while shouting for her to slow down. Gogo cut down her pace only when she had pulled herself onto a flat piece of concrete that rose parallel from the ground. A jagged, gaping hole opened up at the center of this piece; and from it flowed cacophonic sounds. Motioning Neko over, Gogo bent down near the edge of the opening and peered into the cavity below.

"Tako..." Neko narrowed her eyes as she bent down next to the yellow-suited woman; she had identified the man standing directly below them at the edge of a cracked floor. Her head lowered and her gaze shifted to the side. Her eyes widened a fraction of an inch as she registered members of Gogo's group and members of her own group crossing fists, blades, balls, and fire with a singular man (?). It was clear that they were outmatched.

"Some ally you've got there." Gogo hissed through gritted teeth. "He's obviously not with us."

"I know."

And with that phrase hanging in the air, Neko dropped down to the level below. In one fluid motion, she landed on the edge of the flooring right behind Tako's lax form, detached the pistol that hung at her waist, and pointed it squarely at the back of the aforementioned man's head. The man, in turn, froze and side-glanced at her steadily. When she pushed the gun deeper into the back of his skull, he raised his hands.

"Call off your kitten, Takoyaki." Neko ordered as Gogo dropped down beside her.

"Neko!" Hebi, who was laying face-down on the ground, cried happily; she scrambled to her feet. "You're here!" She paused, her expression becoming cross: "I would be lying if I said that you weren't frickin' late!"

"Gogo!" Honey Lemon shouted in relief. "You're safe!"

"'F course she is!" Fred grinned his lax grin as he aimed another lash of flames at the person known as Saru. "She's Gogo!"

"Saru." Tako called with a light smile as he turned his head in the clashing group's direction. "The fun is over I'm afraid!"

Said Saru, who was in the middle of dodging one of Wasabi's laser blades, stopped short with widened eyes. Zhis face contorted dispassionately. "Over? Ah! It can't be over! It's over, and I haven't finished yet!?"

"It's over." Tako nodded slowly, eyeing Gogo who smirked at him steadily.

"You heard him." Gogo smirked wider, hand on hip. "Put your limbs in the air."

Saru stared at her in confusion.

"'Put _what_ in her hair?'!" Saru cried, looking around desperately. "Who's hair?! What do I put in her hair?! Ah!"

Gogo raised an eyebrow at him and then side glanced at Honey Lemon who simply shrugged in turn. "Your hands." Gogo clarified. "Put your hands in the air."

Saru stared at her in confusion once more. Seeing this, Wasabi coughed loudly and moved to lift the man's arms up physically. Saru did not resist his attempts, but instead simply gaped at him in understanding.

"T-Thanks..." Saru (who was now holding hands up high in the air) whimpered, attempting to flash a grin. "You're such a nice person. We should be friends!"

"Uh..." Wasabi exchanged a look with Fred who simply gave him a spirited thumbs-up. "Sure..."

"Since we're playing Simon says," Tako interjected with a pleasant smile, "what would you like for me to do next?"

There was a momentary pause of silence in which Neko frowned at Tako steadily. Such silence was interrupted by Hebi's outraged cry:

"What I'd like for you to do is die, you bastard!"

Spitting such a venom-filled phrase in the air, the young adolescent, knife in hand, leapt at man. She darted at him so quickly that Gogo and Neko barely had the time to register the glint of her blade before metal pierced flesh.

"Ah! You stabbed me! How could you?! My suit!"

In the blink of an eye, the person known as Saru had intercepted the course of Hebi's knife. Its tip was now embedded in zhis hand which ze cradled childishly. Wasabi gagged at the sight.

But the onslaught didn't end there m

Without skipping a beat, Hebi wrapped her fingers around the handle of her knife and tugged the weapon out of Saru's hand. In a flash, she was at Tako's side; and the knife's tip hurtled towards his chest—-

— and was stopped by firm fingers that wrapped around its body. Crimson leaked from Neko's hands as she gripped the blade's edge with her free hand.

"Doll," the woman grimaced, "calm down."

"You don't understand!" Hebi cried, eyes wide with hatred and agony, as she gripped the hilt of the knife tightly. "You don't understand! That bastard—he...!" Her voice became lodged in her throat. "Hitsuji... He..."

Neko stared at her in confusion, searched her face for an answer. Her eyes traced over the furious creases in the girl's brow, the whiteness of the girl's bared teeth, and the intensity in the girl's eyes. And then, something incomprehensible clicked in her mind; and her dark orbs widened:

"... What?"

"That Aizen-level of pure filth over there," came an animalistic growl from the direction of the hall, "killed — No, he _murdered_ Hitsuji!"

Leaning against one of the chipped walls of the hall was Taka in the flesh; there were two unconscious forms slung over his trembling shoulders. It was evident by his wincing expression and labored breathing that he was using all of his strength just to remain upright. This fact did not deter him from raising the gun in his hands and pointing it squarely in Tako's direction, nor did it water down the murderous light in his eyes.

"Please do not strain yourself, Mr. Taka. You will only cause yourself further injury."

Such a phrase came from none other than Baymax who waddled out of the darkness of the hall and came to a stop beside Taka. He too had two unconscious men hanging loosely on his shoulders.

Neko stared at the scene unfolding before her uncomprehendingly.

What had she just heard?

Hitsuji — her little lamb — was dead?

There was no way that could be true! She had taught the adolescent a thousand times over already about how to avoid trouble and injury. The adolescent was a good boy, so he always listened to her directives. So, there was no way—

— A white smirk glinted out of the corner of her eyes. Tako's dark and amused orbs clashed with her own; and his smirk grew:

"It was quite the tragedy. If only he had taken the formula like he was supposed to… Oh, well. It can't be helped."

What?

Neko felt her hands begin to shake uncontrollably. She stared down at the trembling bodily parts in confusion. She was not shaking with fear or horror, nor was she shaking with anguish — she was beyond anguish. So then what was it?

She bit down on her inner cheek — bit down on it so hard that she tasted metal in her mouth — as her finger drifted towards the trigger. Her eyes burned.

Ah, that was right.

She was shaking in fury.

Tako studied her with the dissonance and carefulness a hunter would study its prey.

Absolute fury.

But before the woman could even press her index finger down on the trigger, her target suddenly disappeared from her sights — no, he hadn't disappeared. He had been forcefully slammed onto the ground and appeared just as surprised by his sudden encounter with the ground as she was.

"Ah!" Saru cried. "Tako!"

Gogo stood on top of Tako with her clenched fist still raised in the air. Cracking her fists, she glared down at him. "That wasn't nearly satisfying enough..." She paused, realizing the stares she was receiving. She grimaced. "What?"

"Nothing!" Wasabi snapped, while Fred grinned at her widely from beside him.

Neko blinked at her then at Tako. Sighing quietly, she lowered her gun.

"That hurt." Taka smiled his pleasant smile back up at Gogo. "But I doubt my pain even compares to that of your little purple friend—"

"...Oh my god." Honey Lemon exclaimed in realization, her eyes widening in horror. "Hiro!"

Fred and Wasabi started in surprise and panic from beside her. Their battle with Saru had been so intense that they hadn't even noticed the younger Hamada's disappearance until that moment.

Gogo's eyes widened as she realized that Hiro was not among the group; she bent down and grabbed Tako by the scruff and lifted him to eye-level. Black irises clashed with black. "What the hell did you do to Hiro, you freak?!"

"Let's just say that our little Alice character," Tako blinked back up at her, before he shifted his gaze to the abyss that stretched out beside them, "and the white rabbit — or should I say the white fox — fell down the rabbit hole."

"My sensors indicate that Tadashi had sustained serious injuries and that Hiro is currently experiencing high levels of distress. Treatment is required immediately."

"...Tadashi is what…?"

"... Kitsune?!"

Saying such aforementioned diagnostics in a calm yet clipped voice, Baymax removed the two unconscious bodies from his shoulders and gently placed them on the ground; without skipping a beat, he began to stride towards the group — rather, towards his two deemed patients: the Hamada brothers.

Gogo gazed at the approaching robot, before her head snapped downwards to the endless darkness that stretched on beside her. Her eyes widened.

They were _down _there.

Gogo scrambled to the floor's edge and squinted desperately into the darkness below. Wasabi, Fred, Honey Lemon, Hebi, and Usagi were immediately at her side and glaring into the darkness as well. Neko, her mind still muddled and numbed by the recent events, stared at them in confusion. And Tako took such confusion to his advantage.

In one fell swoop, the man knocked the gun out of her hand and drew himself up to a stand. Neko barely had time to react, before he scooped Saru (who was still blubbering to himself) up by the waist and leapt into the air with a force that was inhuman; and at the end of that inhuman leap, he landed on the open roof above their heads. He then waved a farewell at them, turned on his heels, and disappeared into the night. Taka fired several rounds at his retreating form, but it was to no avail.

"Tako!" Neko shouted as she glared up at his fading figure. "Get back here!"

"Forget him!" Gogo growled. "We need to find Hiro and Tadashi!"

"We need to get down there some how!"

"Look," Honey Lemon murmured, raising her head and gesturing towards a long pillar that had fallen diagonally from the floor below in such a fashion that it connected their level with the one beneath them, "we can get down there on that!"

In an instant, Gogo was sliding down the makeshift ramp. Gravel grounded beneath her feet and created suffocating dust clouds in the air, but she didn't care about either occurrences. She broke through the obscuring clouds without hesitation and landed with a roll on the ground below. The others — some in graceful and others in a not so graceful fashions — reached her side as she drew herself up to a stand. Baymax slid rather noisily down the rocky slope behind them all, but his created squeaking cacophony wasn't paid much mind.

"Tadashi!" Gogo shouted loudly through cupped hands as she took a step forward. "Hiro!"

"Hiro!" Honey Lemon called, following suit. "Tadashi!"

"Dudes, where are you?!

"Kitsune!" Hebi yelled at the top of her lungs, before she paused and added: "Hiro!"

A shifting sound emitted from the curtain of shadows that draped around the area. Usagi, Hebi, Wasabi, and Gogo tensed at the sound, while Neko, Honey Lemon, and Fred squinted into the darkness. Both reactions proved to be ineffective and ultimately meaningless, because Baymax quickly identified who it was that orchestrated the shifting sound:

"Hiro. Tadashi."

The former emerged half way out of the curtain of black. Relieved expressions flickered across several faces, but they all fell when Hiro's own expression was registered. The boy's cheeks were streaked with salty wetness; and his face was contorted, pained, desperate.

"Baymax..." Hiro whimpered. "Tadashi... He's..."

It was then that the steady sound of water droplets against concrete hit the air.

Drip.

Drop.

Drip.

The adolescent stepped in full out of the curtain of black and dragged — supported, rather — an unconscious bodily figure alongside him. Recognition of the figure was almost immediate; and horror quickly followed the recognition when the source of the dripping sound was realized. Tadashi Hamada was slowly bleeding out from the knife embedded in his stomach.

"Oh my god!" Honey Lemon gasped in horror, moving forward almost immediately. "Tadashi!"

"Kitsune!" Hebi cried as she ran forward as well. "Kitsune!"

"Hurry! Lay him on the ground!"

Wasabi, Usagi, and Gogo rushed to Hiro's side and helped him guide Tadashi to the floor. They then hovered over the unconscious man frozen and unmovingly. They could tell by just looking at him that his breaths were getting shallower and shallower.

Their eyes then drifted to the handle of the blade that protruded from his abdomen. How...?

"What now?!"

"What the hell happened?!" Neko shouted.

Hiro simply shook his head in terror.

"Although the puncture wound is deep, Tadashi's vital organs have remained unharmed." Baymax quickly informed them. "Tadashi has, however, lost a significant amount of blood; and we must quickly prevent him from losing more. We should also shorten the length of the sword to make it easier to move him to a different location without causing him further injury."

At that announcement, Hebi darted forward in a daze and reached for the blade; her fingers wrapped around its handle, and she prepared to tug the thing out altogether, but—

— a yellow-gloved hand yanked her own hand out of the way.

"Are you stupid?!" Gogo seethed, as she gripped the adolescent's wrist tightly. "He'll only bleed out even more if we take it out!"

Hebi stared at her with widened and panicked eyes. "B-But...? K-Kitsune..."

"W-we ca..." Hiro stuttered, shakily brushing his hair back with his reddened hands; he paused, glancing at Wasabi then at Honey Lemon. "We can use Wasabi's blades to cut the handle off and use one of your solid compounds, Honey Lemon, to seal up the wound t-temporarily... I..." He shook his head and brushed his hair back again.

"R-right." Wasabi nodded with a squeak. He activated his laser blades with shaking hands and bent down next to Tadashi's form. Raising his shaking hands, he let out a shaky breath. "Alright."

"Just do it!" Gogo growled. "Tadashi's life is on the line here!"

"That doesn't help me!" Wasabi shouted back at her. Flinching at the sound of his own voice, he returned his attention to his best friend who lay bleeding out before him. "Okay. I can do this... Hang in there, Tadashi."

With all of the precision he could muster, Wasabi slowly and carefully tilted his his hand-blade downwards and pressed the thing against the lowest point between handle and flesh. A whizzing sound buzzed in the air as the plasma of the hand-blade tore through metal, rubber, and fabric. Seconds later, the handle of the wakizashi and part of the sword itself clattered onto the ground; and Wasabi let out a sigh of relief as he fell backwards.

Honey Lemon swooped down to take his place. Mumbling under her breath with sharp eyes, she thumbed over several buttons on her purse's keypad.

"Hey! Hey!" Hebi hissed as she grabbed Honey Lemon's arm and shook it roughly; she searched the older woman's face desperately. "W-What are you doing?!"

"OCA." Honey Lemon responded in a calm yet clipped tone. "Octyl cyanoacrylate."

At the naming of the substance she was creating, a clear circular ball popped out of the tube in her bag. Hebi, Hiro, and Wasabi started at its emergence.

"Superglue." Gogo identifi pes with tightly clenched fists.

Honey Lemon nodded at her simplified identification of the substance, before she hovered over Tadashi's body and dropped the orb onto his wound with precision. The orb burst upon contact and consumed the wound in its entirety. The dribbling crimson ceased flowing from it.

"We must get Tadashi expert medical attention immediately." Baymax continued.

"A-an ambulance?" Fred suggested. "We should call an ambulance!"

"As if they'll make it here in time to the middle of nowhere!" Gogo snapped at him; she bent down and lifted up one of Tadashi's arms. "Help me get him on my back!"

"What?!" Hebi growled. "Why?!"

"So I can take him to the damn hospital." Gogo glared at her. "Use your common sense. I'll be able to get him there faster than any other option we have."

Wasabi and Usagi wordlessly moved to help her hoist Tadashi's unconscious form onto her back. She tucked her arms under his knees and grunted as she shrugged the man into a more manageable position. She felt his limp head roll over her left shoulder; and she felt the soft thumping of his heart against her sweaty back. He felt so weak — like he would just vanish into ash if she even so much as moved him.

"Gogo…"

The young woman raised her head and found herself gazing into familiar obsidian slates that were strained and distraught. They were pleading with her.

"Please…"

Gogo nodded at Hiro firmly and faced forward. She grounded her rolling-disks into the floor and waited for them to start spinning. They created a high-pitched whine that plucked the air in an irritating fashion as they began to rapidly turn.

And then, she took off, shooting up the makeshift ramp at an inhuman speed. The ground fell away beneath her; and she floated in mid-air for a moment — the angle was enough: almost forty-five degrees to be exact — and then the roof unfolded beneath her. Her disks made contact with the broken ground; and her feet ankles screamed in protest; but she did not stop. Thrusting herself forward, Gogo pierced the night.

Trees and overgrowth rushed past her in a blur of verdigris and brown. The chilling gale whipped with conviction at her face in an attempt to slow her down, but it was to no avail. She sped forward without hesitation—

—but, the chilling gale gained a small victory. Its whips were so vicious that they caused her eyes to sting and water — no, that wasn't right. The heaviness in her chest was the cause of the burning in her eyes. But, damnit, she couldn't cry. Crying was just like announcing that she had given up. Biting her lip, she glanced at Tadashi's pale face.

"Come on, Hamada boy," she murmured, picking up her pace, "don't die on me now. I still have to pay you back for that disk you threw at me."

Her heart nearly stopped altogether when she felt him stir. Her heart jump-started when she registered his expression. He was staring down at her feet — her disks — with a dazed but pleased smile.

"Looks like you've got your electromag disks to work… Not surprised. Knew you could do it, Gogo."

Her widened dark eyes widened even further as she heard the man utter her name. Not 'yellow-suited one'. Not 'you'. Not 'woman'. Just Gogo.

He _remembered_…?

"'Course, Hamada boy." Gogo muttered through gritted teeth. "Now shut up and save your strength."

Ignoring the pulsing pain in her legs, she pressed forward and tore through the forest.

…

— but she hadn't been fast enough.

Gogo watched as the traffic light flashed from red to green; and she pressed down on the gas pedal.

The doctors at the hospital had taken Tadashi in as soon as she had torn through the hospital's doors. With their pure-white gloved-hands, they had whisked him away behind pale swinging doors. She had watched them through a haze of sweat and labored breathing and had blubbered something threatening and incomprehensible at them. It was at that moment that she realized that she realized that she could do _nothing_ else but wait. And wait she did.

It was about half an hour later that the others, minus Kitsune's group, broke through the hospital doors as well. Hiro had rushed up to her immediately and barraged her with desperate questions that she could not provide answers for.

Gogo glared at the gray sky that unfolded above her as she recalled the boy's contorted expression. Her sharp eyes pierced holes into the grayness as she recalled the boy's distraught expression as he and Wasabi had told her and the others about the 5b trials in detail and about how Tadashi had become Kitsune.

"How could people do something so disgusting and horrible?!" Honey Lemon had shaken her head with angry and teary eyes.

But Gogo knew exactly how people could do such terrible things. They just had to be human.

But still…

What they had done was almost borderline unforgivable and unbelievable. The thought of it made her sick to her stomach.

Gogo started as a speck of white sauntering vaguely downwards outside of her window caught her attention. She grimaced.

It was beginning to snow.

* * *

The car windows were fogged over by a thin frosty glaze, but Hiro could still see the slate gray sky from beyond the pane. It was snowing but only faintly. The falling flakes were almost translucent. A mere touch would melt them out of existence.

Sighing, Hiro eased back into his seat and side-glanced at the woman who manned the steering wheel quietly beside him. There were dark circles beneath her eyes and crow's feet at the edges of them. Such features had become more prominent ever since Tadashi's supposed death. And since his return...?

Hiro averted his eyes and bit his lip as the memory relating to the unasked question arose in his mind—

..

"Is it really — Is it really... him? Let me see him!"

Hiro watched in numb dissonance as Aunt Cass shook the white clad doctor before her. Her eyes were wide; and her brunette locks formed a wild mane around her desperate — no, her pleading — expression.

The doctor, wearing a nametag gilded in gold that read Lóng Tian, grasped her shoulders and stared deeply into her eyes. His square jaw was firm as were his dark brown eyes.

"I am sorry, Miss Hamada," the doctor answered her with steadiness, "but Mr. Hamada is currently in intensive care. You'll be able to visit him as soon as his condition stabilizes."

"But is it really..." She whispered with wavering eyes. "Is it really my baby...?"

The doctor stared at for a moment, before running his wrinkled fingers through his fraying hair. He nodded at her with a tight smile.

Her knees buckled beneath her, her entire facial expression becoming a contradiction: wetness prickled at her eyes, yet a smile tugged at her quivering lips. She ran her trembling fingers through her hair and let out a shaky sigh:

"I… I can't believe it…"

Neither could Hiro. He couldn't believe that he had gotten his brother back and had then stabbed him through with his very own hands.

Hiro bit his lip and clenched his fists. He started when a hand was suddenly placed on his shoulder. Turning, he found himself staring at the reassuring faces of Honey Lemon, Gogo, Wasabi, and Fred. Baymax, with his soft hand still resting on the adolescent's shoulder, tilted his head at him.

"Don't worry, dude." Fred assured him. "Tadashi'll be able to tough this one out."

"That's right." Aunt Cass smiled brightly as she drew herself up to a stand and brushed herself off. "He's a Hamada, after all!" She paused before she added in a frightening and dark tone: "And he is so dead when he wakes up! Ugh!" She paused again, before she frowned at Hiro and at those who stood behind him. "You have a lot of explaining to do..."

And they explained it to her — more or less. They gave her a general idea of what had happened to Tadashi — that he had lost his memories from the accident and had become involved with some rather dangerous people and dangerous things, that they had come across Tadashi without actually realizing who he was, that they had chased after him when they realized who he was, and that he might act differently towards her when he woke up.

Cass Hamada took all of this information in with clasped hands and frowning lips. Her mind traced back to several weeks ago when she had encountered what she had thought was a delusion at the cafe. Taking things into consideration, it hadn't been a delusion had it? But... How...?

She started as she felt a small hand hold her own. Hiro's hand. It squeezed her hand; and she promptly squeezed back.

…

Three days passed them by.

They were all in the hospital when the doctor gave them what was supposed to be positive news: "Mr. Hamada has an amazingly advanced healing factor!"

"A what?" Aunt Cass frowned.

"Dude can heal fast!" Fred explained with a grin. "Like Deadpool!"

But something about that fact struck an uneasy chord within the hearts and minds of the six heroes.

"His injuries have almost completely healed — it's actually quite fascinating how fast he has recovered." The doctor nodded at them, before he signaled for one of the nurses. "You can visit him now if you'd like, but he's not awake yet."

The nurse approached their group and nodded at them with an air of reverence. She stared at them for a moment with amber eyes, before she tucked a frizzy lock of hair behind her dark ear and jerked her head in a general direction.

"This way please."

They followed her through many white doorways and down many stretching halls in utter silence. Wasabi tried to break the ice several times by complimenting on the cleanliness of the hospital's many wings. Honey Lemon and Fred tried their best to keep the conversation going as well, but it all eventually lapsed into silence — mostly silence. Fred continued to talk and to ramble, but his talking and rambling kept the atmosphere light.

The nurse stopped by a room that was adorned with a gilded and golden number: 7. There were two card slots posted beside the door frame; and one of them read 'Hamada Tadashi'.

Hiro's heart fluttered in his chest as he read the name. He watched at the nursed moved to push the door open for them. As a collective group, they entered the room.

Everything within the room from the walls to the bed to the windowpane and curtains was white. It was almost blinding.

"Please stay only for a short while if you can."

With that phrase uttered, the nurse left them to their barings.

"Well," Fred nodded, hands on hips, as he looked about the room, "sweet room if I could say so myself."

And then all gazes fell on the bed in the corner of the room. It was a bed that was surrounded by numerous beeping mechanical devices. And it was a bed that was occupied by a bodily form.

"It really is him…" Aunt Cass gasped as she covered her gaping mouth and closed her watering eyes. WIthout skipping a beat, she dashed over to Tadashi's bedside and sank to her knees. She studied his face — his burns — lovingly and repeatedly pushed back his matted hair.

_He's okay! _Hiro thought as a relieved smile plucked at his cheeks. _He's really okay..._

And he and the others joined Aunt Cass at the bedside.

...

But then a week dragged on; and Tadashi had yet to awaken:

"I'm sorry, Ms. Hamada, but I have to ask," The doctor muttered with a puzzled frown, "has your nephew... had a history of drug usage?"

Hiro felt his blood run cold at the asked question; and he searched the doctor's expression desperately. It was grim.

_Please. No. _

"No," Aunt Cass shook her head, "Tadashi never would..." She paused, her eyes growing wide. "... Why?"

"I am afraid that there has been a significant drop Tadashi's brain activity levels." Doctor Long explained in a slow manner. "He is in a catatonic state."

"Catatonic?" Cass frowned, her hand moving towards her lips. "You mean that he's... in a coma?"

Something sharp stabbed at the insides of Hiro's chest. He felt like his heart was being carved out of its cavity.

"We don't know what the cause of it is." The doctor sighed. "Such states are usually triggered by an overdose of drugs or a severe head injury, but our records show that Hamada has neither the drugs in his system nor the head injury capable of causing this condition. But I wanted to check to make sure."

"Is there anything else that could be causing it?" Aunt Cass pressed.

There was a pause.

"It might be post-traumatic catatonia." The doctor drew in a slow and hesitant manner which made it evident that he was rather unsure of himself. "This catatonic state might have been triggered by his mind in an attempt to protect itself — be it from the injury or some other contributing factor. The mind is a very mysterious thing..."

"What are you saying...?"

"Mr. Hamada may possibly just not _want_ to wake up."

Hiro felt numb. The scenery around him felt unreal. It couldn't be real. If it was, wouldn't that mean that this entire situation was his fault...?

…

It was a day after the coma-revelation incident that Hiro encountered Callaghan in the hospital wing. The man was flanked on all sides by guards. At first the adolescent had been surprised, but then he recalled that Gogo had told him that she and Neko had informed the authorities of the man's presence in the hospital when they had dropped him off with Krei. It was only natural that Callaghan was accompanied by guards. He was a criminal, after all. A criminal who was the cause of all of this misfortune. If it hadn't been for him—-

"Hiro." Callaghan raised his eyebrows in surprise, as he identified the adolescent. "What are you doing here...?"

Hiro ignored him, brushed past him; but, he was stopped by Callaghan's hand his shoulder.

"Hiro... T-Tadashi —- how is h—"

Anger. Disbelief. Disgust.

Hiro whipped his head around and ripped Callaghan's hand off of his shoulder. He glared at the man with intense spite and rage, such intense spite and rage that the man's guards started and fixed their watchful (and protective) gazes on him. But Hiro didn't care. He didn't care about that at all. What he cared about was—

"Don't you _dare_ say his name!" Hiro growled, screamed. "You're the one who...!"

But was it really Callaghan's fault? Was Callaghan the one who stabbed Tadashi with a knife?

Hiro's words died in his throat; and he bit his lip and clenched his fists tightly. Burning tears prickled at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

Callaghan's eyes widened at the sight. His eyebrows furrowed. "What... Happened?"

There was a long pause of silence as Hiro struggled to decide whether or not to tell the man about the recent happenings. His mouth, however, worked faster than his mind—

"Tadashi..." Hiro shook his head. "He's... in a coma."

Professor Callaghan's gray pools widened.

"He was _remembering_ right before it though." Hiro continued, glaring holes in the floor and clenching his fists. "And I..."

"I'm sorry, Hiro." Callaghan said in barely a whisper.

No. You're not.

"If you were sorry," Hiro drew steadily, raising his head to meet the man's soft eyes, "you would have told us who was controlling the operation that made Tadashi that way."

"Hiro," Callaghan averted his eyes, "you know I can't do that."

Hiro scoffed at him: "It's not that you can't. It's just that you won't."

The spoken phrase made Callaghan freeze in place. The former professor raised his head and opened his mouth, but no justifying phrase came to his mind; so, he lowered his head and pressed his lips into an unwavering line. Seeing this, Hiro clenched his fists in anger and disappointment; and he turned on his heels to walk in the opposite direction. But then—

"He's probably changed his name and face by now, but..."

Hiro froze in place and slowly turned his head. Callaghan's hard eyes met with his own.

"Keiji Sora. That was the name I knew him by."

…

It was that very same day that Neko dropped by.

Hiro and Aunt Cass had decided to stay a night in the hospital; and the latter had fallen asleep in one of the guest chairs provided within the room. Her soft snores intermingled with the monotone beeps of the heart monitor stationed near Tadashi's bed. It was right next to this bed that Hiro was currently seated. He had pulled one of the guest chairs up to it once Aunt Cass had fallen asleep.

The adolescent sat now with his dark head resting on his brother's rising and falling chest and with his firm hand holding his brother's limp hand. Closing his eyes, he listened to the slow beating of his brother's heart.

Thump. Thump-thump. Thump. Thump-thump.

Beep... Beep... Beep…

_You're __**alive**__, Tadashi. _Hiro thought as he squeezed his brother's hand tightly in his own. _It's okay to wake up now, okay? So wake up, 'Dashi! Please…?_

Silence.

A soft breeze flew in from the open window across the room.

The shadows of the window's curtains danced on the wall; and a human silhouette soon found a place on its surface as well.

"How ya' doin', Kit's little bro?"

Hiro jumped in his chair and raised his head. His dark orbs widened as he registered a feline woman crouching in the frame of the window. The woman wore a cheshire-cat-like smile that matched the crescent moon — white against black — hovering in the night sky behind her.

"You're…" Hiro gaped as he came to a defensive stand. "You're Neko… right?!" He threw a quick glance backwards at Aunt Cass who was evidently undisturbed by the intrusion.

"Don't worry, doll. I'm the only one who knows that Kit is staying at this place. " Neko waved him off with nonchalance. She slinked onto the floor and placed her index finger on her lips. "And I'll be quieter than a mouse."

Hiro grimaced at her warily and stepped closer to Tadashi's form when he saw her approach. Her grin brightened amicably at his response; but it quickly died away and became replaced by a frown as she identified the man laying on the bed.

"How's Kit?"

"He's… in a coma." Hiro replied, sinking back down into his chair. "The doctors don't know what's causing it, but they think that maybe…" He frowned and averted his eyes; he squeezed his brother's hand again. "They think that maybe he doesn't want to wake up…"

There was a pause.

Neko's eyes narrowed.

"That's ridiculous." She frowned deeper, walking up to the bed and peering into the man's pale face; she gripped the bed railings tightly. "Come on. You're better than that, Kit."

"He's been like this for over a week now…" Hiro murmured softly, before he gritted his teeth and squeezed his brother's hand harder. "Tako… have you found the guy?"

There was another pause.

Neko's expression softened.

"Listen, your Kit's brother, right?"

Hiro frowned at her question.

"Right." The woman affirmed for herself, before she continued on in a quiet voice: "The Doubutsu formula is based on three factors: physiology and biology, intelligence, and psychological profile. Kit was an extremely successful candidate of the trial; and extreme success is very rare."

"What are you…" Hiro narrowed his eyes. "What are you saying…?

"What I'm saying is that the dogs runnin' the show will do anything to get their hands on success." Neko sighed, hesitantly reaching over the bed railings and brushing a stray hair away from Tadashi's face. "You've obviously got the brains; and seeing that you're Kit's bro, you've the physiology and biology thing down too..."

"_What_—"

"Look, what I'm saying is that you shouldn't get involved with this anymore." Neko finished. "For both your sake and Kit's." She raised her head and spared a glance in Cass's direction. "And for the people that care about the both of you."

And then, something within Hiro's mind clicked. He stared down at his brother's peaceful expression, glanced backwards at his aunt's sleeping form, and pictured Baymax's, Honey Lemon's, Wasabi's, and Gogo's encouraging presences in his mind. And then, something within his heart twinged, causing him to lower his head.

"You're a good kid, Hiro." Neko murmured as she registered his acceptance. She paused, bending down low and placing her lips against Tadashi's forehead; she pulled back and studied his calm expression and then whispered quietly in his ear: "And it sounds like you were a good kid too once upon a time, Kit."

Hiro, having not heard her whispered phrase, gaped at her with flushed cheeks.

"W-What are you _doing_?!" The adolescent shook his head in disbelief. "He's not even conscious, and you're _kissing_ him? Are you Hebi or something?"

Neko stared at him and he at her. And then—

— she threw her head backwards and laughed a loud and clear laugh. It was a laugh that caused Hiro to flush all the more.

"You're cute, Kit's bro." Neko grinned slyly at him. "Looks like Kit'll need to give you the cats and birds talk."

"That's not even how you say it…" Hiro raised an eyebrow at her. He then registered her coy expression and became indignant — no, embarrased. "W-What?!"

"Nothin'!" Neko waved him off as she sauntered back towards the windowsill. She placed a hand against the whitened framed and threw a glance back at him. "Well, I'll be makin' my leave then."

"Already…?"

"'Course. A cat's gotta do what a cat's gotta do."

Hiro watched as the woman climbed onto the window sill, watched as her lithe form became bathed in the moon's silvery light. And he suddenly felt a pang in his chest. She too had suffered from the same things his brother had suffered through. She too had been wronged. They all had been.

"Keiji Sora." The adolescent murmured as he continued to study the perched woman. "That's who Callaghan said was running the operation."

She froze, turned her head, and stared at him with widened eyes. His own dark eyes met with them; and he nodded at her steadily. Her eyes softened at this gesture; and she nodded back at him.

"Thanks, Hiro."

She was swallowed up by the night.

_..._

— "We're here, Hiro!" Aunt Cass sang loudly, as she pulled the keys out of the ignition.

The white structure of the hospital loomed overhead.

"Alright." Hiro forced a smile.

And thus, the endless pattern continued.

* * *

Holding three thick tomes under his arms, Hiro ascended the stairs and slipped into into his bedroom. He shut the door behind him and pounced onto his bed the books wrapped tightly in his arms. Spreading the books out on his pillow, he sighed and studied their covers.

Into the Mind by Rodolf Tyr.

The Standard Edition of Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud.

Dissociation within the Human Mind.

He selected the third book and ran his thumb along its leather spinning. He flipped open the cover and read the inscription written in swirling cursive on the inside:

"In psychology, the term dissociation describes a wide array of experiences from mild detachment from immediate surroundings to more detachment from physical and emotional experience."

There was another sentence right beneath it written in smaller font:

"Dissociative disorders are conditions that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity, or perception. Dissociation is a defense mechanism in this case. Such disorders are thought to be primarily be caused by psychological trauma."

He flipped the page and found himself looking at a rather sad-looking table of contents. Chapter One: Dissociative Identity Disorder, pg 5. Chapter Two: Dissociative Amnesia and Dissociative Fugue, pg 101—

Hiro's eyes widened at the bold-print text; and he tore through the book in an attempt to find page 101. The several seconds of flipping through the thin leafy pages were fruitful; and Hiro found himself staring at a large paragraph of text that was printed beneath the words 'Dissociative Amnesia and Dissociative Fugue'.

He scanned the paragraph. Flipped the page. Scanned the paragraph typed out there. Flipped the page.

None of the information on the page helped him! None of the information on the page told him how to help his older brother! It was all useless!

Growling in frustration, he grabbed the book haphazardly and chucked it across the room. It hit the opposite wall and fell into a heap on the ground. The same fate befell the two other books resting on his pillow.

It was all useless.

Hiro plopped back onto his pillow and stared up at the white ceiling that unfolded above him. The whiteness of it was almost oppressive. It felt like it was weighing down on his chest; it felt like it was suffocating him. Turning on his side, Hiro found his gaze drifting towards the blueprints that were spread out on his table. He didn't have it in him to work on it at the moment.

Why had he decided to create the thing in the first place? What had sparked it to life? What had he been trying to accomplish?

It had been a single thought, a single spoken phrase — "You're hands are meant for saving people, not killing them."

Hiro closed his eyes.

…

It was a kind of world that could not even be seen in dreams. There were simply no cues in the physical world to trigger the memory of such a place in deep sleep. Imagination was not significant enough of a factor to transfer the world to reality. In other words, it was a world that deviated from reality itself. Yet here Hiro was standing in the middle of it all.

A red sky stretched out like a vast ocean above his head; and a crimson garden of spindly overgrowth flourished at his feet. Spidery flowers. Red spider lilies.

Raising an eyebrow, Hiro bent down and plucked one of the flowers off of the ground. He spun its stem between his fingertips curiously, but then started when its entirety melted away to ash that swirled and dissipated in the red sky.

He had been here before, hadn't he?

"Weird…"

"I know, right."

That voice.

His heart constricted in his chest.

Hiro turned on his heels with widened eyes that soon met with calm and collected dark pools. An equally calm yet eerie smile unfolded beneath those dark pools. Amusement flickered on the expression overall.

"Ta..." Hiro swallowed his wavering voice. His unfocused eyes searched the expression hopefully, desperately. "Tadashi?"

"I would be lying if I said that I was your brother..." The man muttered, averting his gaze.

Hiro's heart fell slightly.

"Kitsune?"

A smirk tugged on the lips of the person who wore his brother's face.

"Man." Kitsune (?) shook his head disappointedly, mockingly. "Aren't you supposed to be a genius or something, kid? Your naïveté is kind of pathetic."

Realization hit Hiro like a frying pan to the face. "Sierra."

The smirk grew. "Bingo."

In a flash of copper, Hiro watched as his brother's form melted away and hardened into the shape of a slender feminine figure. Curls of orange sprang from the figure's head and fell in sheets down to the figure's waist.

Hiro took a step backwards at the sight.

"Y'know." Sierra sighed, stretching her arms up in the air and bending left and then right. "You're brother is a real nutcase. An anomaly. I mean, destroying his own personality so that he could have a shot at granting another person's wishes?" She paused and flashed a wide grin. "You'd have to be either stupid or crazy to do something like that."

"Great." Hiro rolled his eyes and turned his head. "Now _I'm_ seeing a psychotic girl in my dreams. What are you? Some genetic disease that stems from the Hamada DNA?"

"This isn't a dream."

The adolescent jumped at the sudden change of pitch and whipped his head around. The man known as Knives stood before him with hand on hip. His expression was expectedly indifferent.

"Er..." Hiro raised an eyebrow, as he took another step backwards. "You're Knives, right? You're looking... good."

"_Look_." The young man ignored him and pointed downwards.

He glanced downwards in confusion. He stared at the red overgrowth with a frown, a frown that deepened when a glinting ripple caught his eye. Squinting, he lowered his head and studied the aberration further. And then he realized it. The red water lilies were actually growing from a deep rippling pool of red liquid that seemed to stretch out endlessly beneath him — not solid ground. And he was standing on this pool of red. On it. He was defying physics.

"That's all you have to say?"

A change of voice again. Younger. More full of life. Cheeky.

Hiro didn't have to turn his head to know who had spoken.

"I'd be lying if I said that wasn't anticlimactic."

"Maya..." Hiro stared at the young adolescent who sat crouching and studying the flowers several feet in front of him.

"Kitsune's little bro." She acknowledged him back without actually acknowledging him; she pursed her lips and motioned him to come closer with an air of urgency. "Come on. Look!"

With much hesitation, Hiro joined her at her side. He blinked at her apprehensively. "Wow. Flowers. Not like I've seen this _everywhere_ before."

"Look closer." She scowled, grabbing his arm and pulling him downwards; she jabbed her finger at the small surface of water that peaked in between the lilies. "Don't you see that? Below the water!"

Hiro stumbled into an awkward kneeling position, scowled at the girl for forcing him into such a position, and then followed the girl's finger. He squinted at the water and attempted to guage whether or not there was actually anything beneath its surface. And much to his surprise, there _was. _He shifted on all fours in an attempt to get a better angle on the object floating under the flowery ocean. What was it?

A human... figure? Unconscious?

An unconscious human figure was floating beneath the water's surface.

But who? Hiro squinted further and brushed some of the lilies to the side.

Black hair. Black lashes. A familiar and angular face that was stretched by dulling pinkness.

"Tadashi…?"

He murmured the word in barely a whisper in fear of shattering the possible illusion before him.

"Mhm." Maya nodded, watching him closely.

"Tadashi!"

Maya jumped backwards as Hiro slammed the seemingly solid liquid pool with his fists. Thin red petals flourished in the air and dissipated into ashes. She watched them dance and die with a melancholy expression.

"Ugh! Tadashi!"

Growling and holding back frustrated tears, Hiro began ripping out the flowers that were obscuring his brother's body in handfuls. They scattered in the air and were eaten out existence by an unseen fire. But despite the heated flurry with which he uprooted the wiry plant, the overgrowth seemed to remain constant.

"If you rip them out like that," Maya murmured, nervously toying with her dark hair, "they'll just grow right back eventually."

Hiro's nails dug into the flower bed at her comment; and he whipped his head in her direction:

"Help me then!"

His voice became stuck in his throat when he registered that it was Sierra who stood before him not Maya.

The young woman flashed another wide grin at him and nodded at his hands. He followed her gaze and found himself staring in confusion at his red-stained palms. His confusion quickly melded into horror.

"Getting a slight sense of deja vu?" Sierra questioned lightly, piercing him with her hungry eyes.

Scrambling to his feet and gagging, Hiro attempted to wipe the thick crimson stains coating his hands off onto his shirt. Sierra doubled over in laughter at the sight of his shaken attempts. Her laughter simply caused the adolescent to become more frantic in his attempts to get the crimson liquid off of his hands.

"I… I didn't mean…" Hiro stuttered, shaking his head in terror. "I didn't mean to!"

"Are you sure about that?" Sierra questioned coyly; she tapped her chin and her lips curled even more. "It didn't look like that way too me."

Hiro froze and stared at his caked hands uncomprehendingly.

Did he…?

No.

There was no way.

He shook his head.

Lowering his hands and clenching them tightly, he sent Sierra meaningful glare. And with that glare came a chilling breeze that swept across the plain. Its fingers tore through the flower beds and blew up the entire field in one fell swoop. The scarlet-dipped, shattered petals clung to the updraft that whipped madly at the faces of the two who stood at the center of it all. The two winced in turn; and when they opened their eyes, they were almost blinded by the white purity that surrounded them. The lake beneath them was crystal clear and the sky above them was bleached stark white; and from the stark whiteness a collection of crystalline flakes began to drift down slowly.

Hiro held out his hand in surprise and watched as one of them fluttered into his palm. It melted at his touch.

"Yuki…?" He breathed with raised eyebrows. A stream of chilled breath filtered out of his mouth. "Snowflakes. What…?"

They sprinkled downwards in sheets folding themselves onto the clear sea. They, however, did not melt when they touched the still surface. They blossomed instead. They blossomed into pure, swirling —

— "White roses, huh?" Maya frowned in Sierra's place; she bent down and studied the steadily blooming flowers with a somber look. "It's a shame that they couldn't be aster tatarici."

"Huh?"

"I think Kitsune said that they were called 'shion' in Japanese when I described them to him." Maya murmured, gently caressing one of the petals; she paused with pursed lips. "But I guess it's better this way." Her expression was sad again; and she looked up at him somberly. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go get him."

Hiro started in realization and snapped his head downwards. There his brother lay floating just beneath the clear surface with a bouquet of roses surrounding his still figure. It was surreal — almost as if the entire thing was a part of a funeral —

— no.

Refusing to believe that he even thought of such a thing, Hiro shifted on all fours, gently brushed some of the stray floating roses to the side, and hesitantly pressed his hand downwards on the apparently solid liquid. Much to his surprise, his fingertips broke through the surface.

It was cold. Frigid even. How could Tadashi even stand it?

He pushed forward nonetheless and desperately extended his hand outwards. His fingertips brushed against something warm. An arm. He wrapped his hand tightly around it and scrambled to his feet. Grunting, he threw his weight backwards and tugged. He only made an inch or so of progress.

"A little help would be nice." Hiro said bitingly as he turned his head in Maya's direction; he deadpanned when he realized that she was no longer there — he was the only one residing on the surface. "Of course. Not surprised. Why would I be?"

He heaved again, causing his brother's upper body to break through to the surface. Seeing this, the adolescent brightened. He looped his hands under his brother's underarms and gave a finally tug while grumbling, "You really need to lay off the... whatever you've been eating, 'Dashi."

Hiro fell backwards as Tadashi's entire body broke free from the water's vice-like grasp. Panting, he scrambled to the man's side, studied his face, and tapped his cheek. It was warm. Warm, not cold. Warm.

"'Nii-san...?"

The man's eyebrows furrowed, but his eyes remained closed. This prompted Hiro to tap the man's cheek again, albeit a bit harder.

"'Dashi..."

The man's eyebrows furrowed again, and his lips twitched. "Hiro..."

The adolescent's head perked up; and his eyes softened. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here, Nii-san—

"—you... wet..." The older Hamada's lips flickered upwards. "... the bed... again?"

What...?

Hiro felt his neck and face burn.

What.

This burning increased tenfold, as he registered his brother's shameless expression.

What?!

The line between embarrassment and outrage blurred; and second-thoughts and thoughts of consequence withered away altogether.

"Wake. Up." Hiro shouted angrily as he drew his hand _hard_ across his brother's cheek, "you. Freaking. _Weirdo_!"

The reaction was instantaneous.

"_Ow_!" Tadashi yelped, cupping his cheek and shooting up into a sitting position. Unfortunately for him, Hiro was hovering directly above his face; and due to this fact, his forehead ended up drilling into Hiro's own.

Hiro's reaction was instantaneous as well.

"_Ow_!" Hiro yelped, falling backwards and cradling his pulsing forehead. "Jesus! What..." He paused, lowered his hand, and slowly raised his eyes.

Obsidian met obsidian.

Hiro opened his mouth and then closed it. What was he supposed to say? Sorry for stabbing you and putting you in a coma? He bit his lip.

"Did you..." Tadashi drew slowly, still holding his reddened cheek. "Did you just... _slap_ me?"

That voice.

It was Tadashi's voice, not Kitsune's.

His brother.

His brother was right _here_.

Tadashi was _here_.

"... Hiro?"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Hiro leapt on the man and embraced him tightly. He was warm. Not a drop of crimson was seeping from his stomach. He wasn't entrapped in a listless sleep either, nor was he having a mental breakdown. He was _alright_. The adolescent froze as he felt gentle yet sturdy arms drape his back and pull his body away slowly.

"Hiro, what's going on?"

His head snapped upwards and—-

...

— his eyes snapped open as soon as light filtered in through the drawn shades in his room. Without skipping a beat, he reached over to his bed-stand and switched off his alarm clock just as it flickered from 4:59 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.

He paused, eyes widening.

"Tadashi?!"

He shouted the name desperately as he threw his blankets off and searched his darkened room.

Black. It was almost pitch black. Not white.

And he was alone. Not with his brother. Alone.

A dream.

It had all been a dream.

A sharp pain shot through his chest at the realization; and he doubled over with a wince. Biting his lip, he buried his head in his hands.

"This... _sucks_."

Silence fell. And in that empty quietness that seemed to stretch on forever, Hiro felt completely and utterly alone.

"Hiro!"

He raised his head slowly and groggily at his aunt's call and swung his legs over the bed. Such grogginess was promptly and roughly shaken from his being when pounding footsteps reached his ears. Before he could even abruptly straighten himself, his bedroom door flew open and a somewhat deranged-looking Cass Hamada stumbled in.

"Aunt Cass...?" Hiro raised a slender eyebrow, backing away ever so slightly.

"Tadashi." She gasped, pushing back her matted hair. "He's awake!"

* * *

_Next Chapter_: Hanten (反転)

∟ "Inversion"

"His breath hitched; his lashes fluttered.

He was now awake.

(He was Tadashi Hamada; and he had survived.)

He was alive.

…

'Uhm… what are you talking about?'

'Wha…? What do you mean?'

'I mean that I honestly have no idea what you're talking about...'

'What?'

'...What?'

'What…?!'

'Uhm, what…?'

'What?'

'What…?'

'Er… what?'

'Dude, that's a lot of light bulb measurements in a row.' Fred raised his eyebrows. 'But, no. Really though. Dude_, what_?'

…

'Listen up, you neophytes—'

'Shut up, Sasori—'

'Excuse me. I'm talking, Hebi. Hem. Hem. What we have here is a conspiracy on our hands!'

'Wow. Good job, Sherlock. Want a prize? Wanna go hang with Martin Freeman and make a honey bee farm together? Wanna hint at some homoerotic subtext while you're at it?

'Hmmm… Maybe afterwards. But, as I was saying — conspiracy! The reason why you've all been missing my presence for such a sad and dreaded long amount of time is because I was working in cahoots with a PI who is investigating this entire debacle as well. Maeko Rice—

'Will someone please shut him up!'

…

'So, we have the Hanged Man, the Justice, the High Priestess, the Magician, the Hierophant, the Strength… And our Alice character… Ah, but who will play the part of the Fool?'

* * *

**A/N**: Holy crap. This chapter was called 'stagnation' for a reason: I felt a lot of stagnation trying to write it. Writing this almost caused a borderline writer's block; but, haha! I pulled through! I was kind of worried that I wouldn't be able to post this chapter today because the site was down for so long… Glad everything worked out though!

Anyways, I feel like this chapter should also be called 'everyone is self-loathing' or something. It just fits the entire theme of this chapter pretty well. I apologize if it wasn't that interesting or if it felt rushed. It's meant to be another transitioning chapter for part 3 of this story.

Oh! Additionally, as well as flower symbols, name meanings mean a lot in this story too! And yes, I know that people just don't immediatley 'wake up' froma comas, but this is fanfiction so shhhh...

Also, to answer some generally asked questions…

I do have a tumblr! My handle there is the same as my handle here! I don't really post much though… I just reblog stuff and tag some sassy comments sometimes.

Neko is 24 years of age!

And it looks like this story will be around twenty-five-ish chapters long? I could give you guys the future chapter titles if you want.

Thanks to all those who read, followed, and favorited, and—-

— Holy crap?! Over 58 reviews for the last chapter?! I can't even… Grammar correctly? Thank you guys so much! … although I also find it kind of funny that I got that many reviews for that last chapter because Tadashi nearly died in that one xD. Do any of you guys get annoyed when I respond to reviews within the fic? I know that some people have this as one of their pet peeves, so I just wanted to check...

Hugs and kisses go out to -

TitanTea: Lmfao xD. Very enthusiastic about Tadashi getting gravely injured I see…

sykim423rose: Hey! I was missing your reviews, man. I'm glad your internet problems have been fixed! I've been good. How about you? I'm so sorry about all of your feels, friend! If it makes you feel any better, the next two or three chapters will be filled with the happy kind of feels! And, I followed you on tumblr… Although, you were already following me too xD.

Random Reader 17: Many thanks, friend! o u o. I'm glad that you enjoyed those references xD. I certainly enjoyed writing them.

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Muchos gracias!

Artemis173: Yeah, Tadashi just needs a hug. Everyone does. And you're frustration at Hebi is understandable. I admit she is a very annoying character, but her character is also very fun to write xD. I'm glad you enjoyed the tragic Hamada brother scene!

TadashiFan: Aw, thanks for your support, friend! ;3 /hugs and kisses.

Guest (1): Ack! You're making me blush o u o. I'm sorry for giving you the feels. /patpat. I hope your school day went well and fine! If Taka was a real person, I would make him my best friend xD. But he is actually based off of one of the characters in one of the real deal stories that I plan on writing.

Chitsu-kun: /offers tissues. I'm sorry, friend. o n o. But, huzzuh! Tadashi is alive! /coughspoilercough. Can't say the same for Kitsune though.

reclused-cat: /patpat. /offers band-aids. Ah, Hiro will continue straggling on the hero-anti-hero line.

Hosteen: It's not the end! I was kidding about that A/N! And yes, I am an evil, sadistic person.

v o v. I'll admit that much.

Sabeloid: /holds hands up and swallows. It's okay! It's okay! Tadashi is a-okay… ish! Don'thurtme. Can't guarantee Hiro's state of mind though…

Tony18: Many thanks, friend! o u o. /hugs.

freebird4: Ah, I'm sorry ;c. /hugs and pats. And huzzuh! Tadashi is alright… sort of. Thank you for your support and review! c;

bukalay: Nope! But the whole thing involving imprisonment is a character-development point-point I have planned.

Silverblueroses: I'm glad you liked it! And lol. Having Tadashi die, disappear, and come back again is kind of… funny sounding xD. I might write a parody about that or something xD

Shoyzz: Yas, I did the thing! /hugs tighty back. o u o. I'm glad you enjoyed the scene! And yes-ish to answer your second question. /winkwonk.

starfuckerr: Ack! I'm so sorry, friend! /offers you a brown bag for the hyperventilating thing? (I really like your username btw. It's beautiful xD)

jayswing96: /offerstisues. Worry not, my friend! Things will be looking up… for now.

hy0rinlove: Ack, sorry! /hides. It's a-okay. Tadashi has more (or less) recovered! I'm glad that you enjoyed Tadashi's 84 real scene and his reminiscing scene ;3. (I was going to add the conversation between Tadashi and the Hamada parents for you in this chapter, but I couldn't find anywhere to fit it in v n v. Sorry, friend) Ah yes, Hiro… Let's just say that he has a lot of character growth in the future… I'm glad that you enjoyed Taka's lines in this chapter! And his character too. He seems to be a lot of people's favorite. As for Hebi… a gigantic slice of humble pie will land on her plate in chapter 18-ish/19-ish. More Saru coming right up! And, you're a TadaHoney shipper? ;o. Many thanks for your input!

D2143: /hugs and pats. It's okay. Tadashi is alive!

tomboy2012: /blushesintensely. You're too kind o u o. No, but really! Thank you so much for your compliments! You have no idea how happy it makes me when people compliment my writing. I honestly don't view myself as that good of a writer, so I get so flustered when people compliment me. I really do want to become a writer, but I doubt that anyone would want to read the stories I have planned xD. It's a-okay though. And I do have a tumblr! I go by the same username as I go by here! You could give me your username and I could follow you, if you can't find me…?

teengens: Sorry about the cliffhangers, friend. o n o. There's one in this one too unfortunately. Sorry about the feels too. Er… right. Those accidental stabbings. /coughsloudly. They just sort of...er… happened? Glad you liked the references!

2yuki7: Happy belated birthday, friend! /offers you cookies, hugs, and kisses. Think of this chapter as a birthday present then! And yes, yes I did. I was more inspired from the manga than the anime though. /nodnod. It's not creepy at all; it's actually really, really flattering o u o.

GalacticTrooper954: /patpat. I actually might write two endings to this story. A happy one and a tragic one.

One Bright Light: Sorry, friend! And sorry for the cliffhanger in this one too… v n v. Ah yes, Hiro is one sassy little brainiac.

Anon: Correct! But I don't mind writing ships out.

Avatar4ever: Ack! You're making me blush again v-v. I do want to write a book though. Sorry for forgetting Neko's age! I answered both of your questions above!

Guest (2): Ack! /holds up hands defensively. I'm sorry, friend! But it's okay! Tadashi is fine… ish. And yes, I really do xD. I guess I'm kind of a sadist.

Producciones Escudo: Sorry, friend, sorry! xD. I'm sorry for you emotional distress! /bowsbows. I'm sorry if it was hard to follow. v-v. I tried my best! That song you listed is very good by the way! Sad, but good. Might add it to my favorites!

A Very Lazy Guy: Indeed it was… Hermmm…

eltigre221: Many thanks for your compliments! o u o.

KittyKat590: T-thanks! ; u ;. Here is an update!

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Eep! Sorry, friend! /offers bandaids for your broken heart? It's okay! The next couple of chapters'll be happy-ish!

Amarylis: Kitsune would be a pretty badass name tbh. Poor Tadashi indeed v-v. And no worries! Tadashi is alive and breathing!

Keshigomu: Thank you so much! o u o. Sorry if my OCs are hard to follow xD. There are only a few more coming, but I hope it won't be too bad.

moshi95 AKA sherley C: Many thanks! I'm glad you found this fic too xD.

Banana Gun: Ah, thank you! Don't spontaneously combust! Here's an update!... Although it's another cliffhanger… herm.

Salve-Sis: Many thanks, friend! o u o. Kitsune watching the video was actually one of my favorit parts to right, tbh — aside from his mental breakdown, that is. And you were totally right about the Journey to the Center of the Mind thing xD. Kudos to you, my friend! As for Hiro — let's just say that he has a lot of character development coming up. And yes, that plot point with Tadashi and Hebi. /winkwonk.

Guest (3): Yes, yes it was xD.

Shallowgrip: Yes, to the Tokyo Ghoul thing. And I admit Saru is somewhat based off of Naki's character. He's just so… odd. The other OCs are of my own creation though xD. Most of them I created on a whim, but Taka… He's actually based off of one the characters in one of my real deal stories that I plan on writing. Thank you for the compliments and support, friend!

shu: I have not! He is a-okay. D-don't cry! /offers tissues.

Guest (4): Wow, can I just say that I really appreciate your review? It made me smile and blush xD. Aha, yes. I apologize for my sadism. I just can't help it v-v. Thank you for the compliments! And.. erm… I guess I drink coffee when I write the fic sometimes? I don't actually know xD. I'm glad that you're enjoying the OCs, Taka especially. He seems to be a favorite. I have to admit he's my favorite OC too xD. Hate for Tako is natural. No shame there. Your review was lovely! Thank you so much!

thatgirlnoonesees: Poor, Hitsuji v-v. He was 16 years of age… It's okay. That poem was interesting xD. /thumbsup.

OmniEtnity: No worries! Tadashi lives!

Anonymous23: Thank you much!

kokolicious: Many thanks! Lol, I can see what you're saying with the Hebi and Kitsune thing. /helps you construct ship.


	17. Inversion

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Seventeenth Encounter_: Hanten (反転)

∟ "Inversion"

* * *

He stands there with his rigged back facing you. Cold apathy radiates from his demeanor.

"Looks like it's your turn now."

You rub the back of your neck and peer over his shoulder. You're are trying to see his face; and when you do, your eyes widen. You come to realize that—

"Don't die."

— he is you.

* * *

His breath hitched; his lashes fluttered.

He was now awake.

He was Tadashi Hamada, and he had survived.

He was alive—

— but, he was confused.

What was going on?

Blurry shapes moved like ghosts around him. They were white in color and humanoid in form. And they brought with them the sharp scent of antiseptics. The smell drilled into his temple like a… like a… like something that was sharp. He couldn't find the mot juste for it at the moment.

"... a?"

His question came out incoherently through his lips. He wasn't sure whether this was because his throat felt like a desert or because his mind and mouth seemed disconnected. Actually, everything felt disconnected, so it was probably that.

Something translucent flashed out of the corner of his eye; and he felt the cool rim of a glass cup press against his lips. The cup tilted and water trickled down his throat. The blurred face of a man soon took the place of the cup.

"Can yo... ear me?"

Tadashi grimaced but nodded his head.

"Good. Can you tell me your name?"

He felt a slight sense of déjà vu at the asked question, but he answered nonetheless:

"Hamada... Ta... Tadashi...? Tadashi Hamada."

There was a pause.

"Good."

Tadashi blinked again; and the haze enveloping his surroundings cleared. But he didn't recognize any of the said surroundings. From the white walls that rose above him to the mechanical devices that surrounded him to the window that opened up to his right and to the firmly closed door at his left — none of it was familiar to him. And he wasn't sure whether this was due to his disorientation or due to the fact that he _actually_ didn't recognize the place.

"Where am I... ?" Tadashi murmured, struggling to pull himself up into a sitting position. Firm hands immediately pushed him back down. "Wait. What's going on?"

"You're in the hospital, Mr. Hamada. I'm Long Tien. Your doctor."

"Hospital?" Tadashi tasted the word in his mouth and frowned at its flavor. He sank back down into his pillow and stared at the doctor. "What... What happened?"

"What's the last thing that you remember, Mr. Hamada?"

The last thing he remembered...? He frowned — attempted to reach to the back of his mind and pry open the gate of coherent thought and remembrance. The key was in his hand, and the door was right before him. The last thing he remembered was—

— "You let me in there right now, or I'll show you exactly why I was called Catastrophe Hamada in high school!"

The erratic shout came from behind the closed door.

Tadashi perked his head up at he sound. He knew that voice. His heart skipped a beat; and he braced himself.

The door to the room flew open; and one angry and flustered Cass Hamada stood seething in the doorframe. Her narrowed eyes scanned the room and locked onto Tadashi's form. The young man flinched in turn and scrambled up into an awkward sitting position.

"Uhm..."

"Mister. Tadashi. Hamada." The woman hissed as she stomped forward (the doctor quickly sidestepped away). She paused only when she was right by his bedpost; and then she, hands on hips, stooped her head down so low that she was nose-to-nose with him. She searched his dark eyes with furrowed eyebrows and he hers with pensively raised eyebrows.

"Uh—"

And she threw her arms around his neck and then covered him in kisses. He started in surprise at the forceful pricks and pecks of her lips.

"Oh my god... You're _okay_." She whispered into his ear as she pulled him close, closed her eyes, and gently ran her fingertips through his hair. "You're safe... I'm so glad that you're safe. Tadashi, honey—"

The addressed man flinched in surprise at her touch. And he flinched even more so when the woman suddenly grabbed his ear and gave it a hard tug.

"You're in so much trouble, young man!" She hissed, pinching the bodily part in between her fingertips. "What the hell were you _thinking_?! What the hell have you been _doing_?! Do you know how many donuts I've been shoveling in my mouth ever since you— ugh! I can't even say it!" She threw her free hand up in the air in exasperation.

Tadashi, while repeatedly hissing a mantra of "ow"s under his breath, stared at her with confused and dazed eyes that soon softened when they registered the woman's next actions. Her pinching fingers move downwards to cup his cheek; and her burning brown eyes became watery as they lingered on his face. In turn, he raised his hand and touched her raised arm gently.

"Aunt Cass, I—"

At the utterance of the address, the woman shot up to a stand with wide eyes. Tadashi raised his hands in defense and in confusion.

"You recognize me?" She whispered. Before he could even respond to her question, she whipped her head around and shouted to the large group crowded near the doorway: "He recognizes me!"

Tadashi blanched at her and then turned his attention to those who stood in the doorway. A colorful crowd hovered there; and each member of the crowd had on a unique expression. Fear. Hopefulness. Hesitance. Joy. Teariness. Joy. Mostly pure happiness and joy. It was a mass of contradictions that caused Tadashi to stare. The staring expression morphed into one of surprise when one of these contradictions broke free from the crowd and hurtled towards him at a breakneck speed:

"DUDE. You're un-zombified!"

— and Tadashi found himself promptly being tackle-hugged by the young man known as Fred. Before he could flinch a the sudden contact, however, he was soon attacked by yet another crowd member — Honey Lemon in the flesh. She dove in at a low angle and wrapped her arms around his neck, while muttering something quickly about how she understood how uncomfortable physical contact made him but how she had missed him so much that she couldn't help it. The surprises didn't end there. The man known as Wasabi blubbered something incomprehensible as he clung to the doorframe and then removed himself from the frame and clung to Tadashi's form instead. The latter couldn't decipher a word of what the former was saying — the former was in absolute hysterics. And then came Gogo Tamago herself. She trudged against the white tiled flooring slowly and came to a stop by the bedpost. Raising her chin at him, she slipped a hand out of her pocket and used it to lightly punch him on the shoulder.

"Morning, Hamada boy." She smirked.

It was all very overwhelming. Dizzying even. He felt like he was spiraling down a bottomless hole.

"I'm sorry." The doctor stepped in. "But you're overwhelming him. I'm going to need you all to exit immediately—

"No," Tadashi smiled with a perturbed expression, "I'm fine... _really_ — just a little confused and concerned." He laughed a loud and clear laugh.

Those around him — save for Aunt Cass and the nurses bustling around the room — and the last member of the crowd who still stood glued to the doorway froze at the sound. They stared. Tadashi, however, did not take notice of these occurrences; instead, he found all of his attention captured by the one who stood in the doorframe. He squinted at him.

"Hiro?"

The adolescent's lowered head perked up at the address, but he did not meet the eyes of the man who addressed him. He did, however, shuffle forward slowly and move away from the door frame.

"I'm…" Hiro swallowed and ran his fingers through his hair as he studied the tiled floor. "... sorry."

There was silence. And then—

"'Sorry'?" Tadashi shook his head with furrowed eyebrows. "Sorry for what?" There was another pause of silence in which a disappointed look crossed the older Hamada's face. "What did you do _this_ time?"

Hiro blanched and raised an eyebrow at the man. _I... Stabbed you...? _

"You're in here..." Hiro swallowed again, "because of me."

Another pause of silence.

"Uhm… What are you talking about?"

What? Did Tadashi want him to blatantly and bluntly say it aloud? He would probably have a break down if he did such a thing.

Thoughts similar to those ran through the younger Hamada's mind as he slowly raised his eyes to meet his brother's face; but once he registered the _expression_ on his brother's face, such thoughts became deleted from his mind. Bafflement and _concern_ could be read on Tadashi's face as clear as day. What exactly was...?

"Wha...?" Hiro murmured and blanched. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I honestly have no idea what you're talking about..." Tadashi frowned a frown that did not look natural on his face. "Have you been bot fighting again?"

There was a pause.

"What." Hiro deadpanned. The emotional exhaustion that he had been experiencing the past couple of weeks finally took its toll on him.

"...What?" Tadashi repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"What…?!" Gogo hissed under her breath.

"Uhm, what…?" Wasabi shook his head and then gestured in confusion from Tadashi to Hiro. "Did he just...?"

"What?"

"What…?"

"Er…" Honey Lemon blinked, "excuse me, but what?"

"Dude, that's a lot of light bulb measurements in a row." Fred raised his eyebrows and chuckled at his joke for a good minute, before he became somewhat serious again. "But, no. Really though. Dude_, what_?"

"I'm..." Tadashi sank back into his pillow with a grimace. "... immensely concerned and confused right now."

It was at this moment that the Doctor Long stepped forward and took the reins once more.

"I was just about to ask Mr. Hamada here," the doctor drew as he stepped forward and flashed a smile, "what the last thing he remembered was."

There was yet another pause of silence. Wasabi looked at Fred who looked at Honey Lemon who looked at Gogo who looked at Hiro who looked at his aunt. A slow and steady trickle of realization came to them.

"Now, Mr. Hamada," Long nodded at the young man, "what's the last thing you remember?"

Tadashi frowned seriously with furrowed eyebrows. His expressive expression gave the answer straight away to the five heroes.

"The showcase…" He answered, his eyes slowly widening. "A-A fire broke out at the showcase." His head snapped upwards, and his expression became panicked. "Professor Callaghan—

_Smack_!

Even after the smacking cacophony had resounded, Hiro kept his hand raised. Everyone stared at the body part with either shock, disbelief, smugness, or indifference.

"Did you just…" Tadashi shook his head as he cradled his reddened cheek. "Did you just _slap_ me? ... _Again_?"

Hiro started in surprise, before he glanced at his hand and then down at his brother.

"Er..." Hiro lowered his hand. "No...?"

There was another pause of silence in which everyone observed Tadashi with scrutiny. The latter wanted to press further on asking about his professor's condition, but the odd, worried, and pained looks he was receiving kept such questioned at bay.

"Callaghan's fine." Hiro finished, averting his eyes once more and clenching his fists.

"Mr. Hamada," the doctor cleared his throat, "you've been in a coma for three weeks."

"I've... _what_?" Tadashi paled. He searched the man's face, then his aunt's, and finally his brother's. The latter averted his gaze. "Three... Weeks...?"

"Now. I want you to listen to me calmly." The doctor continued with a slow nod. "It's been nine months since the fire broke at SanFransokyo University's showcase."

There was a pause.

"Y-You're joking right?" Tadashi laughed nervously; he paused when he came to realize that no one else was laughing. He searched the faces of those around him for reassurance.

"Tadashi, honey," Cass pressed gently as she kneeled down next to him so that they were at eye-level, "it really has been nine months…" She paused, her lips pursed.

"You…" Hiro shook his head and pushed his hair back out of nervousness. "You really don't remember…?"

Tadashi silently shook his head in turn. Wasabi and Fred exchanged hesitant looks as did Gogo and Honey Lemon. Hiro, on the other hand, kept his eyes glued to his brother's face. A past spoken phrase came to him at that moment—-

"_Congratulations, kid. You managed to kill me either after all."_

"Now," Doctor Long cleared his throat, "retrograde amnesia is a common side-effect for patients who have recently awoken from a catatonic state. As such, lost memories usually return within a few days or weeks." He paused with a contemplative expression. "However, from what you have told me, there may be a chance that the nine months worth of memory will not return."

Several of the gathered heroes could not help but feel a small spark of excitement at this newly given information.

"Wait," Tadashi frowned, "what do you mean?"

"From what I understand, before your catatonic state," the doctor explained, "you were also suffering from a form of trauma-induced retrograde amnesia."

"... Wait… what…?"

"Tadashi," his aunt drew gently in her soft voice, "you haven't been home for the past nine months… When you ran into that burning building…" Her voice cracked. "W-We thought you…" She reached over and cupped his cheek. "We thought you died, Tadashi..."

Tadashi's eyes widened; and he sat there frozen for a short period of time. Then his eyebrows furrowed, and his eyes softened in a somber way. He leaned into his Aunt's hand and cupped it in his own hand.

"I'm so sorry, Aunt Cass…"

He paused suddenly and gazed at Hiro. The latter attempted to avert his gaze, but the former's gaze held him steady. It held him steady because it was so familiar, so nostalgic. (Was that guilt in there? But why?)That gaze was one he hadn't seen in nine long months — a gaze that he thought he would never see again. The steadfast gaze was followed by a familiar jerk of the head — a signal for him to come closer.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Tadashi," Hiro forced a smirk, yet followed his brother's directive and shuffled closer to the bed; he paused by the railings. "I didn't miss you that much."

Tadashi frowned knowingly at the comment, before he raised an eyebrow and flashed a half-smile. He raised his right hand slowly and plopped it heftily on top of the adolescent's bed of hair. He felt the adolescent tense under his palm; and he quickly smoothed out that tenseness by ruffling the adolescent's hair.

"Of course not." He tilted his head. "You're too cool for that."

Hiro felt it again. The hot prickle that stung at his eyes. The fear that clenched his chest.

Was this okay? Would this last? Was it okay for him to enjoy himself right now?

"Duuude." Fred pipped suddenly from the sidelines. He stooped down low next to Tadashi's form, removed his blue cap, and tilted his light head in the man's direction. "Don't leave me hanging!"

Tadashi blanched, removed his hand from Hiro's head. "Er... What…?"

"Do the pat thing on me, man." Fred rolled his eyes.

"Uh… okay…" Tadashi drew slowly, hesitantly reaching for the bowing man's head; he paused. "But I feel like I should ask why…"

"Mmm." Wasabi shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, man." He jerked his thumb off-handedly at Fred's head. "Dude hasn't showered in a week."

"I…" Tadashi raised an eyebrow as he quickly withdrew his hand. "I'm torn between feeling impressed and concerned."

"Both." Wasabi nodded. "You should be both."

Gogo gazed at the unfolding happenings silently.

Tadashi took notice of her silence and blinked at her distractedly. Gazing at her, he came to realize that she looked a bit older — a bit more mature even — from when he had last seen her (when he had last _remembered_ seeing her…?). They all did. Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fred, Aunt Cass… And Hiro too. The fact shot a strange and sharp pain through his heart.

"Hey," Tadashi spoke suddenly (so suddenly that he even surprised himself), wearing his characteristic half-smile once again, "can I have a mirror?"

There was an awkward pause in which numerous glances were exchanged.

"It's embarrassing to admit," he drew in an unashamed and unembarrassed manner, "but I kind of want to see what I look like after nine months."

Honey Lemon silently reached into her purse, pulled out her iPhone, and gingerly handed it to the man. Tadashi flashed her a smile of thanks, causing an expression that he did not quite understand to flash across her face.

"Tadashi," Wasabi coughed, rubbing his neck, "you were… injured — burned — in the fire—

"It's fine. Scars are scars." He waved him off affectionately and nonchalantly. "No one said that I'd have to look like a beauty."

"Aw, baby," Aunt Cass cooed, "you'll always be a beauty."

"Uhm," the older Hamada brother coughed, exchanging a look with the younger Hamada brother who simply shrugged and averted his eyes again, "thanks, Aunt Cass."

He held the phone up to his face and stared at its dark, mirrored surface. His eyes widened slightly and imperceptibly as they traced along the tinted stretch marks that reached across the left side of his face. Subconsciously, he clenched his left arm; but, he did not shift his gaze. Instead, he lowered the phone onto his lap.

"Hm… " He smiled mischievously and elbowed Hiro, "well, I'm _still_ the more attractive brother."

"Yeah," Hiro scoffed despite himself — it just felt so _natural_ to act like this again (even though it was… wrong?), "in what alternate continuity?"

"In all of them." Tadashi answered cheekily.

"How soon can we take him home?" Cass questioned the doctor quietly.

"We can discharge him right this afternoon." The doctor smiled pleasantly. The nurse behind him frowned in confusion, but she did not voice her confusion aloud.

"Really?!" Honey Lemon clapped away the uneasy tension that had risen in the air. "That's great news!" She paused and stooped down to Tadashi's form; and she hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can go home now!"

He did not pull away from her touch, nor did he send her a chilling glare.

"Yeah…" Tadashi laughed (His amicable, friendly, and nostalgic reaction caused Honey Lemon to visibly brighten. _He was back_.), before a troubled look crossed his face. "I still can't believe it though... Nine _months_? What in the world have I been doing?"

"Darting around San Fransokyo in a fox mask and working with a bunch of anti-heroes to defeat an evil organization?" Fred suggested with a crooked smile and shrugging shoulders. His remark earned him a mouthed 'what the hell' from Wasabi and a jab in the ribs from Gogo.

Tadashi, on the other hand, laughed his suggestion off as a joke and rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."

Hiro stared, before he allowed his lips to twitch upwards naturally ever so slightly.

This was fine…?

While this amicable conversation was occurring, Doctor Long had managed to exit the room to retrieve an item and return with the said item in tow. Hiro was the first to notice what the item was; and his eyes widened slightly as a distant memory came to mind.

What the doctor held in his hand was a rectangular plastic box. Within the box was a thick rubber band-like object and a clear syringe. Soon all eyes within the room save for Tadashi's — he had suddenly become distracted by something outside of the window — fell onto the box. Realizing that he was receiving curious gazes, the doctor quickly explained himself as he slid on plastic gloves:

"I want to draw some blood, so that I can check it and see if there are any unforeseen problems."

— The doctor withdrew the syringe from the case —

"With your consent, of course, Mr. Hamada."

Tadashi started as his name was called and turned away from the window in a daze. He blinked at those around him in stupor, before he was directed by jerks of their head to the doctor's form. He registered the doctor's calm expression; and then registered the object the man was removing from the plastic box in his hand. A syringe.

Okay, so they were just going to draw blood.

Tadashi opened his mouth to affirm his consent, but—

— his words suddenly became stuck his throat.

Confusion flooded his mind. No, panic did.

He felt his heart begin to rapidly beat in his chest. It beat so fast that he could feel it throbbing in his throat. Maybe that was why he couldn't speak? And maybe that was why he felt like he couldn't breathe either. He was choking on his own heartbeat.

Breathe. Breathe.

He took deep and labored breaths and grabbed his chest. He felt it rapidly thrum against his palm.

What was going on?

What was going on?

"Tadashi! What's wrong?"

"What's wrong with him? What's wrong with him?"

"N-Nii-san…!"

He became vaguely aware of the fact that a curtain of people had been drawn around him. They were shouting his name and touching him. But, he was too dizzy, too lightheaded, to focus on their forms and their voices. He felt like he was drowning.

"He's having a—

"—p-panic attack…" Hiro's voice. Right?

"Jesus Christ!" Wasabi's voice. "What do we do? What do we do?"

He was dying. He had to be. A heart-attack? He was dying… again…? Wait... What?

"Has he ever had a history of trypanophobia?" A nurse.

"No." Aunt Cass's voice. He felt her hand gripping his arm tightly. "He's never… Tadashi has never been afraid of needles! He's… He's never had a panic attack either!"

The sensation of pins and needles pricked at every inch of his skin. It wasn't a painful pricking; rather, it was a numbing one. At least, it was at first. The sensation of needles and pins began to drift down towards and become focused along his right arm. And then, he felt like he was being stabbed there. Over and over again. By needles.

"Hey, Tadashi." The nurse again. He could see the vague shadowy outline of her face. "You're fine. You're just having a panic attack. You're fine..."

Wincing, he grabbed his arm and bent over.

No, he wasn't fine.

He needed to get out of here. He needed to get of—

"'Dashi."

He froze. A hand held his own.

"Here. Let's count to ten, okay? One..."

He breathed in.

"Two…"

He breathed out.

"Three…"

He breathed in.

"Four…" This time it was not only Hiro's voice that said the word but a collection of other whispered voices too.

He breathed out and sank back into his pillow.

"Five…"

And thus the symphonic counting continued until they reached ten. When the number was reached, Tadashi found that the rapid beating in his heart had more or less subsided. His mind was still in a daze, however; and nausea still plucked at his stomach.

"Good job, honey." It was Aunt Cass this time. He felt her smooth back his hair. "I'm proud of you."

"Sorry…" He murmured weakly; his body was still trembling slightly, so it was difficult to speak. "I don't know what came over me…"

"It's okay, Tadashi." Honey Lemon murmured just as weakly; there was a strange, knowing, guilty, and pained look beneath her smiling expression. "At least you're fine now."

Cass Hamada gazed warmly into her nephew's dazed expression, before she rose from her kneeling position and turned towards the doctor. The man had quickly placed the syringe back into it's plastic container after Tadashi's trembles had first broken out, and he was now standing several feet away with a grim expression. Why hadn't he done anything to help? Before Cass could voice her complaints, however, the doctor raised his head and said:

"Seeing how Mr. Hamada appears to have a fear of needles, I will not draw blood. It was only a precautionary measure anyways."

"Wait," Wasabi raised his head, "so it'll be okay if you don't draw his blood?"

"Yes." the doctor nodded, before he began to walk towards the doorway. "I'll send a more specialized nurse in to inform you about things you need to know about patients who have recently awoken from catatonia; and she will also direct you on how to check Mr. Hamada out of the hospital."

He exited without another word.

"Well," Tadashi, his breathing now eased and relaxed, cracked another half-smile, "that was embarrassing."

* * *

A thin building.

It was a pleasant little place tucked away in a rather questionable area of the city. It was surrounded by an assortment of shops ranging from midnight brothels to early morning breakfast restaurants. Three weeks earlier, it had been largely inhabited, save for the occasional nomadic mouse. At present time, however, it found itself filled to the brim with animals.

"But one animal," a man who stood in front of this building continued to narrate to himself, "was missing from the picture. Suspicious?" He shook his head. "No. Because the animal was a hard boiled, mad scientist-detective!"

Passersby walking along the street spared the man strange looks. Another nut-case, perhaps? He certainly did talk like one. The way he was dressed was a bit strange too. A tanned fedora perched at an odd angle on top of his mousy brown hair that was slicked backwards. His thin, tanned, and lanky form was enveloped by what appeared to be a long dusty trench coat. And beneath that article of clothing was a... white lab coat. Brown against white.

Was he a detective? Was he a scientist? Only he knew the answer to that question.

"And so," the strange man drew as he stepped forward towards the building, "the man swiftly stepped forward towards the building and away from the rotten city. He reached out towards the door handle; he paused, thinking."

The man did as he narrated. He then stared at the brass door knob for a long minute, before he made any attempts for it. Before he could wrap his thin fingers around the door knob, however, the door flew open; and he found himself staring down at a painfully hopeful expression.

"Hebi?" The man raised his thick eyebrows in surprise.

The addressed girl's expression then fell. Biting her lips, she turned away from him and lowered her eyes. "Welcome back, Sasori…"

He watched as she silently shuffled back into the house. He frowned, before he stepped into the building himself, and shut the door close behind him. He followed her through a hall of darkness and frowned at her small back.

"So, my little minion—" He began, before he was very rudely cut off, mind you:

"Talk to Ookami about it."

They entered a warmly lit living-room-like area. It was very homely to say the least. A yellowed lamp stood in the very corner of the room and bathed the occupied oriental rug and the occupied rugged couch that was set against the wall in an equally yellow light. The oriental rug was occupied by the woman known as Ookami who was doing crunches on its surface; the rugged couch was occupied by the man known as Taka who, with his hands folded behind his head, was staring up at the ceiling and listening to whatever music was flowing out of the headphones that were resting on his head. Hebi trudged over to where Taka sat and perched herself on the little couch space that he had provided for her.

The room lapsed into silence.

The man known as Sasori cleared his throat. Ookami perked up at the sound, turned her head in his direction, and then came to a stand. She wiped the sweat that beaded her forehead off onto the back of her hand and stared at him steadily.

"Welcome back, Sasori." She nodded at him, before she paused and looked away. "We need to talk. You've missed a lot."

"Of course! And so have you! Do you know how long it's taken me to find this new base? I have yet to understand what prompted you to move in the first place! Anyways..." Sasori drew loudly, deeply, and dramatically; he paused as well and pointed his index finger at the occupants of the couch. "Listen up, you neophytes—"

"Shut up, Sasori..." Hebi muttered dejectedly from behind them; she tucked her knees under her chin and stared at the lamp in the corner of the room. She bit her lip again.

"Excuse me. I'm talking, Hebi." Sasori chastised her with a strange British cadence in his voice. "Hem. Hem. What we have here is a conspiracy on our hands!"

"Wow. Good job, Sherlock." came Taka's voice. The young man continued to stare up at the ceiling as he spoke. "Want a prize? Wanna go hang with Martin Freeman and make a honey bee farm together? Wanna hint at some homoerotic subtext while you're at it?"

"Hmmm… Maybe afterwards." Sasori nodded thoughtfully. "But, as I was saying — conspiracy! The reason why you've all been missing my presence for such a sad and dreaded long amount of time is because I was working in cahoots with a PI who is investigating this entire debacle as well. Maeko Rice—

"Will someone please shut him up!" Hebi growled through gritted teeth. She came to a stand and stomped out of the room without another word.

Sasori watched her go with a raised eyebrow. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed…" He paused as if realizing something. He scanned the room quickly, before he pursed his lips. "Query: now... where are the others?"

Ookami clicked her tongue and averted her eyes. She clenched her fists and bit down on the inner part of her lip. Sasori studied her actions with a frown.

"I hypothesize that Kitsune is brooding on the roof of this building." Sasori murmured, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He paused when he saw both Ookami and Taka wince out of the corner of his eye. "Usagi is most likely up there with him… Neko is probably out retrieving supplies… And as for Hitsuji…"

The atmosphere dropped several degrees; and the man took this into account with a frown.

"He is most likely giving Tako or Neko company." The man concluded, clasping his hands behind his back. "Is my conjecture correct?"

"Don't say that man's name." Ookami muttered, gazing at Sasori steadily. "That man is a traitor."

"Who?" Sasori frowned. "... Tako?"

Ookami nodded steadily.

"And Hitsuji is dead." Taka spoke suddenly, rising from the couch and averting his eyes. "Kitsune is… MIA."

"What?" Sasori shook his head incredulously. "That… That can't be right…"

"If you're here to tell us that you found the name of the guy who smacked down this cthulhu-level of shittitude upon us," Taka continued, hand on hip, "sorry to say — but you're later than late."

Sasori opened his mouth and then closed it.

"Because we got most of our information from Tako and Kitsune," Ookami sighed and glared at the lamp as if it had wronged her, "I'm not sure of what we should do next."

* * *

The car ride home was awkward to say the least. Despite having driven in their own individual vehicles to the hospital, everyone bundled into Cass's minivan. Needless to say, it was quite the squeeze. Fred, having called shotgun, was nestled in the passenger seat right next to Cass who manned the wheel. The two seats that filled the middle row of the vehicle were occupied by a fluttery Honey Lemon and and a jittery Wasabi. The back seat was occupied by a trio. Tadashi was the centerpiece of this trio and was flanked on his left by Hiro and on his right by Gogo. The young man also so happened to be the centerpiece of attention.

"With the looks you're giving me," Tadashi laughed a laugh that caused several occupants of the car to wince and others to smile, "I feel like one of Professor Yult's Modern Art exhibitions."

There was silence; and then a plethora of laughs arose. Even Hiro, who had been sitting quietly with wavering eyes the entire time, allowed a chuckle to escape from his lips. Tadashi's lips quirked upwards triumphantly at this sight. Hiro straightened at the cockiness of it all and scowled. _It doesn't feel right_, the adolescent thought to himself. _Is it really fine to play pretend? How is everyone else so __**calm**__?_

"Professor Yult isn't at SFIT anymore though, by the way." Wasabi wiped a tear away from his eye. "He actually got arrested six months ago."

"You're kidding." Tadashi quirked an eyebrow.

"Nope." Fred quipped, turning around in his seat and slinging his arms over the chair's back. "It's true. Apparently all of his self-proclaimed nude portraits were stolen from some street artist." He paused, before he pointed at Tadashi squarely. "I still say it was aliens though."

"The only alien thing here is that brain of yours." Gogo huffed, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

Hiro swallowed a smirk.

"Shun the nonbeliever!" Fred shouted hoarsely.

"It's a shame though really." Honey Lemon frowned, whipping out her phone and flipping through several of her apps. "I really liked his artwork — er, stolen artwork. I created a blog for him for it, but I had to take it down afterwards..."

"Wow, that really does suck…" Tadashi blinked; he paused and gazed at Honey Lemon with a tilted head. "Hey, how has your fashion blog been doing?"

Honey Lemon's expression brightened immediately at the asked question; and she pushed her phone into his face and began flipping through a photo album in her storage while chirpily informing him of her recent blogging ventures. Tadashi looked up and listened with interest. He only became distracted when Gogo nudged him in the rib.

"Good to have you back among the living, Hamada boy." She said with averted eyes.

"It really is." Honey Lemon nodded fiercely, shoving her phone back into her coat.

"We missed you, dude." Wasabi agreed. "Like missed, missed, man."

Tadashi blinked at them in surprise, his amicable expression becoming soft and melancholy.

Hiro bit his lip and mustered up the courage to speak—

— but his brother suddenly fell forward limp.

"Nii-san!"

Wasabi screamed a high-pitched bloody murder as he sloppily caught Tadashi's falling form; Honey Lemon swallowed a shriek and helped Gogo, Hiro, and Wasabi push the older Hamasa back onto his seat . The car veered sharply and suddenly to the right at the commotion; and a flustered Cass Hamada peered into the rear-view mirror with a frantic and panicked expression.

"What?!" She shouted. "What's going on back there? Tadashi?!"

"He-He just passed out all of a sudden!" Honey Lemon shouted back. She bent over and tapped him on the cheek. "Tadashi, hey, Tadashi!"

"Nii-san!"

And then he started, his lashes fluttered, and his eyes groggily slid open.

"Hmm?" Tadashi blinked blearily; he gazed around in utter confusion and attempted to shake the confusion from his mind. "Sorry… I just got really tired there…" He yawned and rubbed his eyes. "... for a second."

A symphony of relieved sighs filled the air, before—

"What?" Gogo shook her head incredulously. "And you just decided to faceplant on the floor?"

"Sorry…" Tadashi mumbled sheepishly, before he let loose another yawn.

"The doctor did say that he would be exhausted after a couple of hours..." Cass frowned, verging back onto to the road. "Why don't you rest a bit, honey? And put a seatbelt on too while you're at it, Jesus! "

"Sorry, Aunt Cass." Tadashi apologized as he picked up a frayed piece of leather strap that was connected to the bottom of his seat. "But the seatbelt over here is broken. I think it's been like this since the time when Hiro and I tried to..." He trailed off.

Hiro brightened at the unspoken memory but quickly shoved the lightheartedness that had suddenly enveloped him to the corner of his mind. He couldn't allow himself to let his guard down. He needed to be guarded for his brother.

"I'll get around to fixing it though. I promise."

"Hiro," Gogo nodded at the adolescent suddenly as she extended her arm outwards to him, "hold my hand."

Hiro covered his blush with a raised eyebrow. "Uhm... Excuse me?"

"Just give me your hand."

Hiro obliged. Her hand was warm. Their arms straddled across Tadashi's chest.

"There," the woman nodded with a huff, "problem solved."

"Duuude," Fred nodded approvingly, "human seatbelt. Nice. Much better than the human centipede. That's for sure."

"Look," Tadashi raised an eyebrow at Gogo and then at Hiro, "you guys don't need to do this—

"Get some shut eye, Hamada boy." Gogo ordered, staring out of her side of the window. She gazed at his reflection in the glass pane with concern. "No shame here, boy."

Not having the strength to argue nor the strength to keep his eyes open any longer, Tadashi obliged. He sank back into his seat and closed his eyes. In seconds, he was fast asleep. His head rolled along the back of the chair until it came to rest on Hiro's own head. The adolescent froze at the touch (He feared moving and stirring the man.) and raised his eyes to the dozing man's face.

Peaceful. His expression was peaceful and relaxed. Kind. Untouched by self-loathing, apathy, fear, **hatred**. It was quite the contrast to the torn and agonized expression that he had witnessed at the pit of a broken building weeks earlier. It was... nice. Nostalgic. Melancholy. Pressed a good sort of pain into the folds of his heart. _He __**missed**_ _this person._ They all did. Desperately. The man's scent, his rhythmic breathing, the calm aura he radiated — everything they missed was sitting right before them. But could it really last? Hiro desperately hoped that it would… But was that really _fine_?

The other members of the Big Hero Six came to some realization as well and averted their eyes in fear of bringing the horrible memory of Kitsune to life.

Aunt Cass gazed at her two nephews from the rear view mirror with pursed lips and furrowed brows. She knew that she had yet to hear the whole truth. But that was fine for now.

They reached the Lucky Cat Cafe minutes later.

As soon as the car jerked to a stop, Tadashi started. He lifted his head up slightly and peered into Hiro's face with a quirky smile:

"That hard head of yours makes a surprisingly nice pillow."

That _smile_.

"It's called hair." Hiro forced a smirk.

"You should get it cut." Tadashi noted back.

They exited the car with great commotion and great difficulty. In a great chattering huddle, they stormed into the Lucky Cat Cafe—

— and they were immediately greeted by a rain of colorful balloons, a swinging banner that read 'Welcome Back!', and by a chorus of shouts:

"Welcome home, Tadashi!"

Needless to say, it was all very overwhelming to Tadashi. And touching. The workers of the cafe had probably worked for hours to set everything up.

"T-Thanks, guys!" He laughed. "You really didn't have to do this, but I really appreciate it!

(For some reason, it felt wrong to say the traditional "I'm home!", so he settled for the above string of words instead.)

A long bout of chattering and celebratory partying followed. Tadashi was completely exhausted at this point — he felt like he would drop dead any second — but he forced a smile and engaged in conversation nonetheless. His exhaustion became very apparent, however; and those not of Hamada blood politely (and reluctantly) made their leave.

And then there were three.

"Why don't you go up and rest, Tadashi?" Aunt Cass suggested as she began to clear the plate-toppled counters.

"Are you sure you don't need help?" Tadashi frowned worriedly.

"It's okay." Aunt Cass rolled her eyes. "I've got this, alright? I'm not some hopeless old woman!"

"Alright, Aunt Cass." He laughed, before he began to head towards the stairwell at the back of the room. He paused suddenly and threw a glance backwards in Hiro's direction. He frowned.

The adolescent was perched on the coffee counter and was staring at the plateful of untouched cake that he held in his hands. He played around with the sweet delight offhandedly with his fork.

"Hiro."

The adolescent's head perked up at the address; and he met Tadashi's gaze. The latter jerked his head backwards with a smile and signaled for the former to follow him up the stairs. The younger Hamada paused with widened eyes and then slowly followed his brother up the stairwell. Needless to say, due to Hiro's slow pace, Tadashi was the first to enter the room. Hiro straggled behind him.

"Tadashi, you are well."

Hiro froze at the doorway.

That was Baymax's voice. The robot must have activated himself while he was at the hospital.

The adolescent was unsure of whether or not to intervene.

"Oh, Baymax!" Hiro heard Tadashi exclaim in surprise. "You're here... And awake too!... Did Hiro activate you?"

There was a pause. Baymax was probably performing a scan.

"Yes, I was activated when Hiro said the word 'ow'." Came the mechanical answer. There was a pause, before the mechanical voice continued: "You appear to have fully recovered physically and exceptionally covered mentally. Although, you still appear to be suffering from psychological damage."

"Huh? Oh! Psychologically … Yeah. Unfortunately, it looks like the past nine months have been wiped clean from my head." A laugh.

"My scanners indicate that your statement is correct."

There was a pause.

"...Thanks for taking care of Hiro all this time, buddy."

"Of course, Tadashi."

"I am satisfied with my care."

There was the sound of something deflating and then absolute silence.

As if signaled by the silence, Hiro entered the room. He found his brother standing at the center of it and gazing at his section of the room in silence.

"My room is..." Tadashi raised his eyebrows in surprise. "It's... clean."

Hiro gazed at the man's broad back uncertainly, before he moved towards his desk and fingered the blueprints laying on its surface. He hummed a quiet "yes" of confirmation as he did so. Everything about his current situation screamed awkward.

"You've been keeping it clean this entire time?"

There was a sad inflection in the tone of the asked question.

"Yeah." Hiro tried his best to shrug nonchalantly. "Y'know Aunt Cass. She goes crazy if things aren't orderly. She has a dash of Wasabi in her."

A soft creaking followed his explanation; and the adolescent saw his brother slowly sink into the bed out of the corner of his eye. He watched as his brother bounced on it testily several times in a row before easing into it slowly. His heart sank at the sight.

"You're..." Hiro frowned, running his fingertips along the edge of the table; he kept his eyes glued to its wooden surface. "You're sleeping _already_...?"

A yawn answered him, followed by a —-"Yeah... I'm just really beat right now..."

The room lapsed into silence.

Hiro glared holes into the wooden tabletop and continued to run his thumb along its edge. He bit his lip. _But I want to talk to you. It's not __**fair**__. _Unable to control himself any longer, Hiro lifted his head in Tadashi's direction. Much to his surprise, he found that his brother was not bundled in blankets and sleeping in his bed; rather, the man, gazing at him with knowing eyes and a half-smile, was sitting on the bed's edge. Silently, he signaled for the adolescent to come closer with his right hand.

Hiro stood frozen in place for a moment. He was entrapped by the nostalgia of both the expression and the gesture. But, he pushed on. The adolescent hesitantly shuffled forward and then — before he could even stop himself — broke out into a run. The wooden floorboards protested loudly beneath him, but their protests fell deaf on his ears. Biting back a smile, Hiro reached his brother's side—

— and was promptly (and not to mention somewhat _painfully_) pushed backwards by a poke to the forehead. Yelping in surprise and smacking his hand protectively over his forehead, Hiro stared incredulously at his brother's mischievous expression. And then the baffled stare morphed into an irritated scowl. Before the adolescent could even voice a word of protest, however, he found himself promptly being pulled downwards onto the bed by the arm.

"Help!" Tadashi cried, tugging Hiro downwards. "Your gravitational pull is too strong. I'm being pulled into orbit!"

And then Hiro promptly fell onto the bed and was consumed by a pair of arms and a pair of legs. Needless to say, he struggled against them. (And like that, everything fell into place like nothing had ever really changed in the first place.)

"Ew!" He scowled, pushing at his brother's chest. "Get off of me!"

But his brother was too strong.

"Can't." Tadashi sighed dramatically and dejectedly as he clung to Hiro's form. "Newton's law of gravitation won't let me!"

"Get off, you _nerd_!" Hiro shouted in a whisper with flushed cheeks. But then—

— a cool forehead pressed against his own flushed one. Hiro froze in surprise at the sensation and slowly tilted his head upwards. (_Like a wilting — no — a blooming flower_, Tadashi thought vaguely for some reason he did not know.) The adolescent's hesitant eyes met with ones that were unwavering and warm.

And—

— those three weeks (No, not weeks — months.) of emptiness (No, not emptiness. He had never been alone in the first place. Everyone had been there supporting him. The weeks — the months — had been simply ones of waiting — of stagnation.) flashed before his eyes. And they threatened to spill over his fluttering lashes.

"I'm sorry, Otouto."

Hiro's heart skipped a beat at the nostalgic address.

"I don't know what I've been doing these past couple of months, but I should have been here with _you_, Aunt Cass, and everyone else."

The hug around him tightened; and Hiro found himself lowering his head — not too far as to break contact with his brother's forehead — and ceasing his attempts of resistance.

"_If you want your brother back that badly, I suppose that you'll have to kill me."_

Hiro squeezed his eyes shut and clenched the fabric of his brother's shirt tightly in his sweating palms. _Stop embarrassing yourself, dammit. Stop thinking about that stuff. _But he couldn't.

"_I guess you don't want your brother back that badly then."_

_Stop it, dammit. _

"_There's a reason why I'm called Kitsune and not Tadashi."_

"_Baymax, __**destroy**__!"_

"_If you don't want to have something taken from you, you are going to have to take from other people."_

_Stop!_

But in his mind's eye, he was gripping the wakizashi tightly in his shaking hands. Revenge. Revenge, but…

"_Congratulations, kid. You managed to kill me afterall."_

_No—_

—

—

— "I love you, Hiro."

It was a quiet whisper, but it was strong and resolute. It was said with such serene force that Hiro had trouble comprehending the full weight of the words. It took him several minutes to reach an 'understanding'; and immediately as this understanding was reached, he answered back (brushing embarrassment and pride to the side) with the full force of everything he had in him:

"I-I love you too, 'Dashi… I missed you so much."

But the young man was already softly snoring away. Hiro scoffed in a miffed manner as he realized this (He had just opened up his heart and his brother had just promptly fallen asleep?! The impudence! Besides, how the hell was he supposed to get out of his brother's death grip without waking him up?!), but then lowered his head to the man's chest.

Thump. Thump-thump. Thump. Thump-thump.

"_This is... fine."_

Yeah… this was perfectly fine.

He closed his eyes.

Hiro did not awake the next morning just as his alarm clock flashed from 4:59 a.m. to 5:00 a.m., nor did he move to turn off its buzzing cacophony. Aunt Cass, after watching the boys sleep wrapped in each other's arms and walking over to kiss each of them on the forehead, saw to that problem.

The endless pattern was broken.

* * *

Unbeknownst to many, there was a private one-room floor in SanFransokyo's General Hospital that was inaccessible to a majority of the staff. The floor was filled with the best medical equipment of the day, yet it had a very primitive atmosphere to it. Perhaps this was because there were no windows to allow light onto the floor.

An occupied bed was placed at the center of this floor; and next to it sat a young man who held a deck of cards in his hand. Behind him was another man (?) who was busily braiding his dark hair.

"Isn't that an intriguing plot twist, Monkey?" The sitting man asked the braiding man(?). "That boy was Fox's brother."

"This braid is what's twisty." Saru frowned with a disheartened expression. "I don't think I'm doing it right." He paused, before a look of anger flashed across his face: "And my name is Saru not Monkey, Tako!"

"I'm pleasantly surprised that the boss was not angered when he found out that we let our animal actors go." Tako sighed, ignoring Saru and shuffling his hand-held deck of cards. "Perhaps, the boss has a fondness for his pets? Or perhaps he's using them to find more pets?" He frowned. "It's hard to tell whether or not he's a villain worthy of sympathy."

"I'd like to have pets." was Saru's only comment on the matter. He was way too occupied with untangling the knots in Tako's hair. "Argh! Your hair is like an octopus!"

"It's getting more and more difficult to find successful trial participants." Tako sighed melodramatically. "Recently, all of our participants have suffered from either physical or mental," he side-glanced at Saru's frowning expression, "deterioration… Fox really was the best. It's such a quaint thing that such a beautifully tragic character like him would have such a beautiful deterioration." He paused, selecting a card from his deck and staring at it's surface.

The card depicted the roman numeral twelve above the snapshot of a hanging man. The Hanged Man.

"Well," Tako sighed, tossing the card to the ground, "that's obviously Fox… or maye even Fox's brother. Ah well. We'll see."

He pulled out another card.

The card depicted mthe roman numeral eleven above the image of a crown-wearing woman holding a sword in one hand a balancing scale in the other. The Justice.

"... Hm." Tako tilted his head. "This one is hard. Neko, perhaps? Maybe the yellow hero? Or the green one? No… I think this may be the yellow one." He tossed the card to the ground and pulled out two more.

The first card depicted the roman numeral two above the image of a woman dressed in light blue robes. The High Priestess.

The second card was topped with the roman numeral one which hovered above the head of a man holding a scroll high up in the air. There was an infinity sign above the man's head. The Magician.

"This is hard too…" Tako frowned as he gazed at both cards with scrutiny. "The pink one could certainly be the Magician, but so could Neko… The pink one could also be the High Priestess… Which one? Which one?" He paused. "Well, I suppose there can always be characters who are more than one archetype. "

Sighing dramatically to himself, he tossed those cards on the ground as well; and he selected two more yet again.

The first card was of a holy-looking man sitting in a regal chair with the roman numeral five floating above his head. The Hierophant.

The second card was of a man stroking the neck of a beast. An infinity sign as well as the roman numeral eight floated above his head. The Strength.

"The Hierophant is… the pink one, again?" Tako murmured contemplatively. "Maybe, the green one too?" He paused, glancing at the second card. "And the Strength is…. the green one. The pink one? Or… maybe that robot character?"

Sighing yet again, he tossed the two cards behind his head.

"So, we have the Hanged Man, the Justice, the High Priestess, the Magician, the Hierophant, the Strength… And our Alice character…" Tako drew out another card from the deck and studied it with a smile. "Ah, but who will play the part of the Fool?" He twirled the card in his fingertips and side-glanced at Saru. "Is it the reptile-looking one? Maybe it's Taka? Maybe it's Fox or even our Alice character! Maybe it's…"

His eyes narrowed and a dark look crossed his face. It disappeared, however as quickly as it came; and it became replaced with a dissonant smile.

"Ah, what does it matter!" Tako shouted, tossing the entire deck up into the air. "We're all fools anyways!"

The cards fluttered down like cryptic snowflakes from another dimension and clattered to the ground noisily.

Tako moved from his seat and leaned next to the bed before him. He peered into the face of the person laying there and sighed:

"Isn't that right, Keiji?"

"Tako!" Saru cried. "You messed up your braid!"

* * *

_Next Chapter:_ Shiawase (幸せ)

∟ "Happiness"

'It was then that Tadashi felt the weight of nine empty months. He felt it and saw the differences. He saw the differences in his younger brother's demeanor (his… maturity?), in the barely visible wrinkles at the corner of his Aunt's month, in the way his friends spoke and acted.

Things were different.

And they too noticed the differences in him as well. It was subtle at first — barely noticeable — but as time dragged on the oddities became more apparent. For one, Tadashi was extremely forgetful. Sometimes the things he forgot were small, like what he had eaten for dinner the previous day; but at other times, he would forget entire conversations that happened only hours before. He also became distracted very easily. Sometimes he would stare off blankly into the distance in the middle of a conversation. This was common in group conversations; and he would often have to be reeled back into reality and into the conversation by another person. He would then flash his usual apologetic smile and try to make up for his distractedness.

But that didn't matter. They were happy.

…

"So…?"

"So… What?"

"Are we going to tell Tadashi or what?"

"Huh?"

"He deserves to know what happened to him in those nine months. He needs to know."

…

"I'm not doing this for me… I'm doing this for Tadashi… and for everyone that those people have ever wronged."

…

"Big Hero Six, huh?" Tadashi frowned uncertainly.

...

"Tako! Tako! Look at that! Ah! Look! It's Kitsune, isn't it?! He's alive!"

"Oh? Hmm, he does look quite a lot like Fox… How curious… Huh? What is this? But he looks awfully happy over there… Tadashi Hamada, was it — perhaps?"

"Herm… He looks like he's really enjoying himself!"

"Yes, you're right… It's a bit irritating isn't it?"

"Rating…? Rating what?"

"Fox was a piece of art — a wonderful masterpiece of what true humanity looks like. Apathy. Greed. Self-preservation. But, he was also torn and tortured between love and hatred. Care. Charity. Self-sacrifice. Straggling back and forth between the imperceptible line of black and white morality. His slow descent into madness was… splendid! But, seeing him now…"

"Saru doesn't understand what you're talking about…."

"Say, wouldn't this story be so much better if Tadashi disappeared? No… If he _died_?"

* * *

**A/N**: Early chapter as a Valentine's present for all of you wonderful people! /hugs and kisses.

Oh! I apologize for the numerous grammatical errors in the previous chapter… That chapter was just a struggle to write. I'm sorry. I'll go back and fix it up whenever I can. /bowsbows.

And to answer another generally asked question — I don't think this story will have a sequel. It might, but I'm not planning any so far.

Also, about the dream sequence things. It's really up to you to decide what it is. It definitely is not a physical place though. It's kind of like the 'subconscious' sort of. And Hiro is able to access it somehow be it because of some supernatural aspect or because of strong nakama/broship.

Thanks to all those who read, followed, and reviewed! 383 reviews?! /faints.

A big batch of Valentine's Day cookies too—

Silverblueroses: Yes! Huzzah! He isn't fully 'back' yet though… v-v

jayswing96: Aw, thank ya!

DestinyWing: Hm, you got most of them right! I applaud you, friend!

Hoosteen: Ack! You're too kind! I feel like this would be a little bit too violent to be a sequel though v-v. xD.

RandomReader17: Many thanks! I had to do quite some research for the flower thing. And Neko does not have a crush on Kitsune. It's more of a sister-brother relationship. (And there will be a talk/show-down thing eventually. /legasp.)

Laziness Triumphs: Sorry, man v-v. That chapter was just a struggle to write. I'll try to go back and fix it when I can.

Artemis173: Hm… I answered your thing above, but… Tadashi didn't physically go there in the video footage… Hiro was just able to see what was going on in his brother's mind at that point in time … because of brothership? Because of nakama power? /shrugs. I hoped that helped to clear things up a bit.

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Ack! /patpat. Sorry for the feels, man. But… I am glad that my story is able to evoke the feels at the same time xD. I've actually never heard of Ikiryou before, but I looked it up… and yeah, I guess there was some of that going on in the previous chapter xD. Whether it was supernatural is up to you decide for now. /winkwonk.

eltigre221: Thanks! Yes, dat slap tho.

roundnround: Thanks, man! I appreciate the compliments! As for the romantic pairings… there aren't going to be any really evident ones. Like, if you see a pairing then you see it. If you don't see it, then you don't. If that makes sense…? It's up to you to decide whether or not there are any pairings.

Ember Neutron: Yes, perfect xDD.

TadashiFan: Alas, he does not. Well, he does, but he also does not. /le sigh. Thanks for your continual support! /hug.

Amaryllis: Huzzah!

Tony18: I'm not quite sure what's going to happen in the bad ending yet either tbh. I have two bad endings in mind, but… Hm… Worry not. There shall be intense sibling bonding in the next few chapters. Ish.

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Thank ya! c;

Sabeloid: Sorry about the cliffhangers! This one doesn't have one though fortunately. Here's an early chapter for you!

skydancerfyremagyk: Here's an update for you too! Thanks for the cookies! You always make the best virtual cookies. /winkwonk.

freebird4: Ah yes, hopefully this chapter mended it together a little more?

thatgirlnoonesees: Aw ;c. I'm sorry. /offers tissues. And wait…? 'who soda what'? xD I'm a little confused. Lmfao, there might be a tiny dash of Hebi and Hiro interaction later on. I actually need this story to come to an end, because it is taking over my life and I really need to focus on college xD.

2yuki7: Ah, poor Hiro. He's got eyes on him now. As for Tadashi… mmm… Well…

capricornicis: Many thanks! You're way too kind o u o. /hugs.

Producciones Escudo: I actually planned to have Tadashi survive the ordeal in the first place xD. He still has a lot of character development — cough: torture — to go through. Thanks for the compliments! Ooh! I'd like to read your fic once you start it!

Avatar4ever: Ack. That's really rough, man. I just had tests in all my subjects yesterday it was gd awful. I'm glad that the chapter earned you a couple of laughs o u o. And no, I don't have an elder brother, but I have a younger one… So that's where I get my ideas from, I guess. I love my little bro to death, so I can really relate to Tadashi. Lmfao xD

hy0rinlove: I know I've probably said this a dozen times already, but I really appreciate your length reviews ;3. /basks in your adoration. /shotdead. Hiro just really needs a hug. And so does Tadashi. o n o. But I just have this urge to keep putting them in harms way — emotionally and physically. /sigh. Yeah, the Sierra, Knives, Maya, Kai, and Chocho that Tadashi sees aren't the 'real' ones, per say. It's all in his head. Living guilt-ish. Ah yes, derpy Tadashi. I'm glad that you enjoyed Neko in the previous chapter xD. Hopefully I managed to flesh her out more… As for Hebi… I actually ship her with Hiro the tiniest bit too. They interact a lot in latter chapters though — or so I plan them to. Glad you enjoyed Gogo's spotlight in the chapter too. Huzzah for Aunt Cass's return! She'll play a more important part in later chapters too. And I agree. Aunt Cass is one strong af woman. I feel like Callaghan is a good person, but he just f'd up somewhere along the road… He's sort of a foil for Hiro me thinks. Anyways. Yas. Saru. He really should leave Tako though… Oh, well. sorry for the grammatical errors… and many thanks for the compliments!

teengens: Huzzah! He is alive! And alas, you're right. He does not. /sadface. I'm not sure about a continuation, but… Hm… And you're also right about the baddies keeping an eye out for Hiro. You shall see. Many thanks for the compliments! See you soon too xD!

GalacticTrooper954: Hm...I wasn't so much as struggling for a chapter title. I was actually struggling to write the chapter. But thanks for the advice! I might change it later on! Thank you for the compliments!

Fujhi poudes-Escapa non: Glad you enjoyed the TadashiGogo and NekoKit interactions! They were heart-wrenching to write. And you are right about the amnesia thing, friend! A plus. Worry not though. Usagi and Hebi will come across him in like two chapters. So… /nodnod. Hopefully you enjoyed Sasori's quirkiness xD. Who's the fool? Who knows…? xD. Yeah… Poor Tadashi. And no about the formula thing. They take it because they're kind of addicted to it and because it gives them a physical advantage. Hm… You can write the questions out in your native language if english isn't your native language and I can put it through google translate if you want. /nodnod. Have a nice Valentine's Day!

One Bright Light: Many thanks! Ah yes, Tako… that slippery eel… Lmfao. That's a bit violent xD. But you're hatred for Tako is understandable v-v. Lmfao xD.

reclused-cat: Ah, yeah… I reused one of my own jokes. Kind of lame, right? xD. Ah well. /noshame. I love you too, friend! /hugs and kisses.

SalveSiS: Yup, you've got that right! Maybe Hiro was able to go into his mind through nakamaship? Spirituality? Deep brotherly love? I dunno… xD. Up to you! You're right about the not remembering thing though. And… you'll see Hebi as well as Usagi's reaction in two chapters… Hmm… And yes, I write what I intend to write and just copy and paste it for the previews. I've actually got this entire story planned out already, so it kind of works in mah favor. Many thanks for the compliments!

Shoyzz: Hm… We'll see what happens to Hiro… And, I don't plan to write a sequel, but who knows? /shrugs.

TerribleTerrors: Ack! That sucks about your phone, man. I hope you find it! Thanks for your compliments though! /hugs and kisses. As for Hebi… you'll see more of her in two more chapters. Neko really is a big sister to Kitsune though. Really, thanks for the compliments! You're making me blush o u o. Love from here to you!

— for your lovely reviews!


	18. Happiness

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Eighteenth Encounter: _Shiawase (幸せ)

∟"Happiness"

* * *

It had been two short weeks since Tadashi's awakening; and they had been two of the happiest weeks in Hiro's life. But... Something still wasn't right. It was like a great and glorious spark before the inevitable failure of an invention.

...

Suspicious.

It was all very suspicious.

"Supplementary lessons, huh?"

"Uh, yeah. They're lessons that are supplementary. Need me to bring out a dictionary?"

"Okay, wow. I know what they are, Hiro."

"So, what's the problem then?"

"I don't remember SFIT ever having an on campus program for that."

"Tadashi, there are _a lot_ of things you don't remember."

"Well, I _do_ remember someone telling me that 'Supplementary lessons are stupid. Teachers teaching me? I always end up teaching the teachers. Bwuahahaha.'"

"Okay, I do not sound like that."

"Hiro, that's not the point…"

"Look, if you think that I'm going out bot fighting or shooting up drugs, I'm not. Scout's honor, 'Dashi."

"Don't try to be cute with me."

"Psh. I'm naturally cute. I don't need to try to be."

"Un… believable."

"Here. Ask Gogo and the others. They'll root for me. They're taking the classes too."

Hiro spun in his chair as he said the phrase. Every second or so he would see the blurred afterimage of his brother's frowning expression.

"Okay," Tadashi crossed his arms and tapped his foot, "so if I were to call Wasabi right now, he would vouch for you?"

Hiro suddenly felt his heart rate jump; but he kept his expression relaxed nonetheless.

"'Course."

Tadashi lifted his foot up and placed it on the spinning chair just as Hiro passed him by. The adolescent was rattled in his seat and soon found himself staring at a pair of rather pensive eyes.

"_Really_?" Tadashi pressed, leaning downwards and gripping the arms of the chair in his palms.

Hiro nodded and then swallowed nervously. He cursed himself for the action, while Tadashi smirked triumphantly at it.

"Well then," Tadashi drew as he straightened himself and pulled out his phone from his pocket, "I'll call the guy right now then."

_Oh shit_ was Hiro's only thought.

The adolescent watched as Tadashi dialed a number on his phone. Tadashi watched the adolescent as he lifted the phone to his ear and listened to the ringing monotone.

"H-Hello?" Came the voice from the phone's speaker. It sounded oddly panicked. "This you, T-Tadashi?" A grunt.

"Uh…" Tadashi frowned. "... Yeah. Hey, are you okay?"

"Yup!" Another grunt. "Perfectly fine! SO. What's up?"

"Er…" Tadashi glanced at Hiro, before he cleared his throat. "Hiro here tells me that you and the others signed up for supplementary lessons that open this afternoon at SFIT with him—"

"Who the hell could you be talking to at a time like this?" Came another familiar, albeit angrier voice from the phone.

"Is…" Tadashi crossed his arms. "Is that Gogo?"

"Yes, yes it is!" Wasabi replied, his voice becoming high in pitch. "So what's this about supplementary lessons—Honey, watch out!"

Tadashi winced as a loud screeching cacophony rang out from the speakers.

"Hiro said that you guys were going to take him out for supplementary lessons at SFIT right around… now?" Tadashi repeated, before he frowned again. "Look, are you sure you're—-

"_Oh_. Yes!" Came Wasabi's shrill reply. "Supplementary lessons. _Right_. So much science. Supplemental science."

Another ringing boom.

"Hey…" Tadashi pressed.

"It's fine! It's fine!" Wasabi cried. "It's just that the science and the learning here is just so… so intense, you know? We could really use Hiro's help to de-intensify the science. But not the learning. Learning is always goo—"

There was a scrambling scruffle, followed by a change in voice:

"God damnit, Hamada boy, just tell your brother to get his butt over here if he's going to make the effort."

"Gogo?" Tadashi blinked, before he sighed. "I really hope you don't use that language in front of Hiro."

The adolescent rolled his eyes.

"Damnit, Hamada boy." Came Gogo's irritable shout (it kind of sounded like she was out of breath.). "What do you want me to give you? A god damned swear jar?"

"Well," Tadashi replied matter-of-factly, "I actually already have one—

"Hamada boy." Gogo clipped. "Tell other Hamada boy to come. Now."

The line went dead.

Tadashi removed the phone from his ear with a blink and stared at its screen blankly. He then glanced down at Hiro's form only to realize that the boy was sneaking his way right past him. He grabbed the back of his shirt and held him there with a raised eyebrow.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Uh," Hiro raised an eyebrow as well, "to do some intense sciencing and supplementing?" Hiro sighed. "Come on. You heard them."

Tadashi pursed his lips.

"Hey," Hiro sighed, paused as if in deep thought, and gazed at Tadashi steadily, "you can stalk me to our little nerd pow-wow once the doctor okays the nerd school thing if you're so paranoid about it, alright?"

Tadashi started at Hiro's sudden soft expression. There was a strange look in his eye; and it was difficult to tell what kind of look it was. But... there was something oddly dark there mixed in with it all. The darkness was just a small flicker but it was still there. Was it maturity, concern, or something else entirely? Tadashi wasn't quite sure.

"So," Hiro pursed his lips, "can I go?"

Tadashi sighed, before he smiled defeatedly. He jerked his head in the direction of the doorway:

"Well, I trust you, so have fun at nerd school."

Hiro winced at the word 'trust'.

"Uh, no. Nerd school doesn't bring fun to me. I bring fun to nerd school." Hiro smirked.

Tadashi watched Hiro with a raised eyebrow as the adolescent bounded over to the corner of the room where Baymax's charging console was stored. Hiro hefted the large red box into his arms and headed towards the doorway.

"And you're bringing Baymax along with you, why?"

"Science!" Hiro declared as he exited the room with the red box in tow.

Very suspicious indeed.

* * *

Gangs were cool, but they were overrated. This was the conclusion Hiro reached when he found himself standing right in the middle of a turf war. Now, Hiro completely understood that sometimes people needed their personal space — the mot juste would be personal "turf" — but was it _really_ necessary to use downright _stupid_ violence to achieve that front? Was it really necessary to throw an entire city district into chaos? Couldn't they all just talk it out like normal human beings?

"You've got to admit though," Hiro continued, glancing left and then right, before he gestured loosely around the area. "This is a bit much."

Skyscrapers rose like monolithic trees around him; and the gray clouds that peeked in between their large masses were like a stale backdrop to the unfolding play of strangeness. The asphalt ground beneath him was crumpled and cracked and covered with paper-thin layer of snow. The un-breathing inanimateness of it all was peaceful — quite the contrast to the animated chaos of the breathing world.

The group of men and women standing before Hiro sneered at his innocently spoken comment. Six in all. Purple scarves were tied loosely around their inked necks; and pipes, bats, and chains were held tightly in their hands.

"What?" One of the more brutish members of the group asked, stepping forward. "Not feeling so tough without your big robot, huh?"

Hiro tried his best not to roll his eyes. His entire situation was just way too cliche. Even the lines that his opponents were firing at him were cliche. Couldn't they be at least a little bit more original? Seriously? Hiro supposed that he _could_ spice the situation up a bit. Make it more fun even.

"You're not going to hurt a kid like me..." Hiro murmured, lowering his eyes and biting his lips. "... Are you?"

The men and women exchanged looks and began to mutter amongst themselves.

"He really does look like just a kid..."

"Yeah, but he and his musketeer buddies wiped half of us out!"

"What? So? I'm no kid killer!"

"Why don't we just rough him up a little and then let him off with a warning?"

"Are you kidding me? This kid is a part of the Big Hero Six! Didn't you hear that they took out the Black Gloves's four best men five weeks back when they were on a hit?!"

"What? Seriously?! _This_ kid?"

The ragged group simultaneously turned their heads in the direction of where the boy stood — rather, the empty space where he once stood. They gazed at the space in stupor, before a shadow crossing over their heads and the rumbling of a turbine caught their attention. They then gazed upwards at the sky in equal stupor.

Whirling in a circle above their heads was a blur a red and purple. The group could barely make out a tongue-in-cheek smile from the colorful afterimages.

"What the…?"

The blur stopped short right above their heads. A boy and his trusty robot.

"You guys really need to talk things out." Hiro grinned, before he lifted his hand in the air and swept it to the side. "Looks like jail time'll be good for that."

A sleek wave of black metal followed the gesture. It torrented out from the open alleyways around them and pooled into the premises like a whirlpool. The gaping group of scarf-wearing gang members were swallowed whole by this black monster and then promptly spat out in disgust seconds later. Their bodies were tossed to the side like rag dolls; and they soon found themselves in a groaning heap.

The red robot known as Baymax touched down onto the ground next to this groaning heap. Hiro hopped of the bot's back and touched down onto the ground as well. He gazed down at the heap with a triumphant smile.

"Excuse me, sirs," Baymax spoke to the grumbling heap in a kind tone, "but my scanners indicate that you have sustained multiple contusions from your fall. The application of an ice pack and the consumption of ibuprofen or acetaminophen is recommended."

"Oh, come on, Baymax." Hiro rolled his eyes amicably. "Are you really helping them after all that?"

"That is what I am programmed to do." Baymax blinked. "And it is the right thing to do."

"'Right thing', huh?" Hiro scoffed.

"Hiro!" came an ecstatic shout from behind, causing the adolescent to start. "There you are!"

Hiro turned just in time to receive a full-on hug from the woman known as Honey Lemon. He couldn't help but grin in turn.

"What took you so long?" Came another voice, more rough and chaste.

Hiro turned at the voice.

There in the dying skylight stood Gogo Tamago in all her glory. She stared at him with eyebrows that were raised and arms that were crossed. She blew a bubble with her gum, popped it, pulled it back into her mouth. She was awaiting his answer.

"You heard." Hiro shrugged. "Tadashi was nagging me. Again." He paused, blinked at her, and smiled a half-smile. "Looks like you all did fine without me."

"And why would you think otherwise?" Gogo asked pointedly in an amicable manner; she thumbed Honey Lemon. "She even had the time to give a moral lesson to some of the Purple Scarves and Vendettes."

"Really?" Hiro blinked in surprise.

"Yup," came another voice, "but that's our Honey Lemon for you."

Out from the alleyway to his left came Wasabi and Fred. The former had flipped back his visor and the latter his reptile-themed hood. They approached the other four with a somewhat energetic air in the their gait.

"Duuude," Fred drew, as he threw his arm across Hiro's shoulder, "you shoulda seen us, man. Wasabi and I were kicking butt like Batman and Robin. It was more epic than the word epic."

"On another note," Gogo raised an eyebrow at them, before she turned her head and nodded in Hiro's direction, "how is the older Hamada boy doing anyways?"

Everyone paused and turned their heads in Hiro's direction.

"You've seen him…. He's good, but I dunno..." The adolescent shrugged half-heartedly in turn. "He's still kinda... Not all there, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Honey Lemon pressed.

"I don't know." Hiro shrugged again. "He's just been kind of really… lax. Like, I expected him to be all over me when he got back and I thought he'd be all over Baymax too, but…"

"And you want that _why_?" Gogo blanched.

"Hiro," Wasabi smiled lightly, "the guy probably feels bad for…" He paused. "...for, you know… worrying you and your aunt, so he's trying to make up for it."

"Yeah, I guess." Hiro nodded unconvinced.

There was a pause of silence.

"So…" Gogo drew.

"So…" Wasabi turned to look at her hesitantly. "What?"

"Are we going to tell Tadashi or what?" Gogo continued. "Or are we just going to keep pretending that everything is fine?"

"Huh?"

"He deserves to know what happened to him in those nine months. He _needs_ to know." Gogo pressed, her nails digging into her crossed arms, her eyes sharpening.

"Gogo," Honey Lemon murmured, "we all agreed to put the CASCO thing aside until we've all sorted things out, remember?"

"This isn't about CASCO." Gogo snapped. "This is about Tadashi. Don't you guys remember how he reacted when we hid the fact that Callaghan was a criminal from him?"

Hiro visibly winced.

"I know you all want to protect him," Gogo sighed, averting her gaze, "but this is the wrong way to do it."

"I… I actually kinda agree with Gogo on this one, guys." Fred pipped, pulling up his hood slightly. "I honestly don't want a repeat of what happened with the secret about Kitsune and Tadashi, 'cause that really sucked…"

Gogo glanced at Fred in surprise; and he shrugged at her in turn. Hiro's gaze lingered on his form with wariness. His gaze then lowered to the cracked, cold ground.

"I… I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Wasabi rubbed the back of his neck. "I mean… You guys heard about what he went through at the trials third-hand, but Hiro and I…" He paused, side-glancing at the adolescent. "We saw and heard from primary sources; and… things like that — I feel like things like that should…" He trailed off, gazed at Gogo's hardened expression, and sighed. "But I also get what Gogo is saying. There's no easy way to handle this."

Honey Lemon opened her mouth, but then pursed her lips and lowered her eyes.

"Guys…" Hiro finally spoke. "... can' we just… let it be for now?"

Before anyone could answer the rhetorical question in their minds, a jingling and buzzing tune filled the air. It was vaguely reminiscent of the Dark Knight theme song; and it echoed outwards from the pockets within Fred's green suit.

"It's cool guys. No need to be alarmed. It's not a bomb." Fred eased them with an easy smile as he reached inside his pocket and pulled out his phone. "It's just my phone. Me gots a text."

"Who could you possibly texting at a moment like this?" Gogo snapped.

"Just my man Taka." Fred quipped with a grin.

Gogo stared.

Honey Lemon stared.

Wasabi stared.

Hiro stared.

Even Baymax stared.

"Freddie…" Honey Lemon laughed lightly. "Uhm, you—

"What the hell are you thinking?!" Gogo hissed, kicking the man in the shin. She then pulled at his hair and lunged for his cellphone. "Give me that!"

Fred yelped, simultaneously cradling his bruised shin and waving his phone high above his head. "Fredzilla requires assistance!"

Hiro, Wasabi, and Honey Lemon exchanged looks, before they simultaneously darted to Fred's side and restrained Gogo's onslaught.

"Let go of me!" Gogo hissed, yanking herself free and brushing her suit off. She glared knives at Fred who smiled warily back at her. She then prepared to pounce on him again, but stopped herself short when Honey Lemon stepped forward in her stead.

"Freddie..." Honey pressed gently. "Erm..."

"It's okay, guys! It's cool!" Fred announced, holding his hands high up in the air in a defensive manner. "Taka and I exchanged numbers when we first met. I didn't go sneak out to see him or anything."

"Er, Fred, that's…" Hiro frowned, attempting to keep his voice even. "I'm pretty sure that's not the point."

"What have you and Taka been talking about?" Honey Lemon asked delicately.

"Just comic books and stuff." Fred explained. "We're trying to put together a group to work out this whole DC-Marvel feud thing."

"That's all?" Wasabi raised a suspecting eyebrow. "He didn't ask about Tadashi or anything?"

"Well," Fred dropped his hands and trailed off, "he _did_…"

"What?" Hiro snapped. "And what did you tell him?!"

"The truth-ish." Fred drew slowly. "I told him that Kitsune was alive and breathing but out of commission." He raised his hands again, "But it's okay 'cause the dude promised not to tell anyone."

"And you believed him?!" Hiro and Gogo snapped in unison.

"Yeah," Fred nodded, "he's chill. He promised to keep the secret on a down low."

"Well," Honey Lemon murmured, "we could at least give him the benefit of the doubt. I mean, no one has showed up lately asking for Kitsune."

"That's true…" Hiro muttered, his mind drifting to Hebi.

"You do realize that you're being hypocritical though, Fred, right?" Wasabi asked pointedly. "I mean, it's a good kind of hypocritical, but still."

Fred shrugged and grinned.

There was a pause of silence.

"We should probably leave before the reporters get here…." Honey Lemon noted gently, before her expression suddenly brightened. "Oh! I know! We should all go to the Lucky Cat Cafe and visit Tadashi!"

"Sounds good to me." Wasabi nodded. "I could really use something to eat right now anyways."

Gogo shrugged in agreement, while Fred whooped and threw his arms up in the air.

Hiro paused and took a step backwards towards Baymax. The action earned him inquiring looks.

"I need to stop by the lab real quick." Hiro explained as he climbed up the robot's back. "You guys can head there without me — oh! Back-up story is that we were at supplementary lessons at SFIT."

"But SFIT doesn't even have supplementary lessons!" Wasabi sighed in exasperation.

Hiro shrugged and waved them off.

...

A glowing collage of holographic newspaper articles pinned to virtual videos and binary pictures flickered beneath a web of red. The magnetic tip of a pen pressed down on one of these pictures and spilled out a neon pool of virtual red ink as it dragged across the flickering images. The newly drawn line connected the picture of a middle aged man to an article whose headline read "Founding of SanFransokyo General Hospital".

Sighing and lowering the pen, Hiro stared up at the bright screen that flickered before him. The words and images on the screen burned into his retinas; and he rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair in turn.

"So, not only did Keiji Sora help co-found CASCO, but he also created SanFransokyo's General Hospiral from the bottom up?"

Hiro frowned, tapped the bottom of his pen against his chin.

"So _why? _Why would he...?"

He shook his head.

"If he started out helping people, why did he—?"

He clicked his tongue in frustration and reached for the screen. His fingertips pressed against its artificial surface; and with a flick of his wrist, he slid to a different section of the collage. This section held the image of a male adolescent; and when Hiro clicked on his image, a large log of data took the image's place. Medical records.

"Keiji Keshiki..."

Hiro scanned the information logged in the incomplete records without really understanding what he was reading.

"Who are you?"

He crossed his arms.

"Why have you been in the hospital for ten years on you're own personalized floor? What's your relationship to Sora? Are _you_ Sora?"

Hiro smacked himself in the forehead.

"No, stupid! That's impossible ... unless Sora miraculously found the fountain of youth or something..."

Hiro paused, turning his head:

"If I only had Sora's medical records or profile, then I'd be able to have you track him down, buddy."

There was a shifting sound from behind him, followed by a squeaking protest. Baymax padded out from the darkness and blinked at Hiro.

"Hiro," the robot spoke in a strange concerned monotone, "my records indicate that you promised your friends that you all would temporarily stop looking into CASCO."

Hiro frowned and returned his attention to the screen.

"I can't do that, Baymax." The adolescent shook his head. "I just can't."

"Why?" — If an emotion could be stapled to the robot's expression, it would have been confusion — "Hiro, you have the choice."

"Don't you see, Baymax?" Hiro turned to look at the robot with a wry smirk and widespread arms. "I'm the perfect bait. I'm one of the people that they want. And you know me. I hate wasted opportunities."

"I am concerned..." Baymax drew. "Is this what Tadashi would want?"

"Yes and no," Hiro answered steadily, "this is what I want to do — so there's the no. But I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing it for Tadashi. For every person that that group ever wronged. There's the yes." He grimaced, before he added: "Anyways, I'm sure this is what Kitsune would want. I guess you could find a 'yes' in that too."

"Hiro," Baymax tilted his head, "I am unsure if that statement is correct."

"It doesn't matter right now anyways." Hiro waved him off. "I'm going to do this — whatever this is." He paused, glancing over his shoulder. "I-I'll… I promise I'll tell the others once I get my head wrapped around this thing."

Little did Hiro know, the others were not completely bound to their promises either. Honey Lemon's personal chemistry set was bubbling madly away at her house. Fred and Taka had other conversational topics unrelated to comic books saved on their phones. Wasabi had taken to volunteering at San Fransokyo General Hospital. And Gogo? Gogo had taken to tearing through San Fransokyo's midnight streets and having late-night 'chats' with the rats of the city.

All these factors would eventually come into play on the night of the city's Yuki Festival. It would be the night that Alice would be swallowed up by the rabbit hole. It would be the night of the kitsunetsuki — "fox possession". It would be the night in which all of the actors would find themselves standing in the spotlight of the play.

* * *

Laying in his bed, Tadashi sighed and turned the thin plastic page of the comic he held in his hands. It was the thirty-first issue of the Justice League of America which Fred had purchased for him for "educational purposes" as the man had said. Tadashi supposed the fifty other comic book issues his friend had given to him were for educational purposes as well.

Tadashi sighed again.

A pur caught his attention; and he found himself glancing downwards at one attention-seeking Mochi. Chuckling at the fuzzball, he stroked the cat's head.

"You ever think about going on a diet, Mochi?"

The cat hissed in protest in turn and hopped off of the bed and out of the room.

"Come on," Tadashi laughed, "I didn't mean anything by it. It was just a suggestion. You're beautiful the way you are!"

Another hiss.

"Okay. I admit. I deserved that."

And then silence.

He sighed again.

He really did not like staying in one place for too long. And he didn't like being alone either. He _hated_ it actually. He was itching to do something at least somewhat productive or something that involved interacting with people — not that reading comics was not productive or interactive. It certainly was entertaining, but…

His mind began drifting.

The two weeks since he had returned had been strange to say the least. The attention he had been given was almost overwhelming. His friends visited him nearly every day; Aunt Cass had been making his favorites for dinner nearly every night; and Hiro had taken to sleeping with him in his bed. It was nice and all; and he appreciated it; but it just increased the guilt weighing in his heart tenfold. They were doing so much for him even though he hadn't done anything for them. And then there was Professor Callaghan... Although he didn't show it, he was still rather sore about the entire issue.

Needless to say, things were different now. He had a memorial dedicated to him for petesake! It was sort of embarrassing and flattering at the same exact time. But, it was sort of strange too. Memorials were meant to honor people who had accomplished great things and passed away. And he hadn't done either of those things had he? Ah, thinking about it made him feel awkward.

Sighing, Tadashi neatly closed his comic book and tossed it onto his bed stand. He sat up from his bed and scanned his room.

When he tuned his ears, he could hear the bustling buzz of the cafe below.

Alas, he was under 'house arrest' by his dear Aunt Cass. More like grounded. But that didn't mean that he couldn't help her out at the cafe, right? She always looked so tired... She was probably overworking herself. He certainly couldn't let that happen. And... Perhaps he could earn her forgiveness that way too? If he did, he would need to look presentable. He wouldn't want to scare off the customers… Given his appearance…

Tadashi traced the wrinkles along the left side of his face with a frown.

He sighed. Again.

And then there were the tattoos…

Tadashi hopped to his feet and strode over to his mirror in the corner of the room. He whipped off his baggy t-shirt and then studied his reflection. Although burn marks ran along the upper left half of his body, they were not the most eye-catching feature of his… frontal form. He fingered the dark swirls that stained the area on the skin above his heart with a frown.

A dark-inked tattoo.

The character '狐' was the centerpiece of this swirling pattern. The character was encircled by a spiraling fiery halo that stretched out to the upper parts of his body and pooled over his shoulder and onto his back.

Tadashi turned so that his back was to the mirror and peered over his shoulder at his reflection.

The dark-inked flames that spilled over the skin of his shoulder melded into what appeared to be thin flowery petals at his shoulder blades. These thin petals gathered together at the base of his back and formed a garden of spidery flowers around yet another slew of vertically inked characters. The characters read '起死回生'.

"Kishi Kaisei." Tadashi read the characters aloud with pursed lips. "'Wake from death and return to life'?"

He turned to face the mirror again and frowned.

"What were you thinking, nine-months ago me?"

He fingered the swirling tattoo again.

"People will think I'm a yakuza member or something…."

He paused, thinking. He then slid his hands into his jean pockets, turned slightly, lifted his chin, smirked, and gazed into the mirror with a dark and smoldering look:

"You're mine now, darling-chan."

"Uh. What are you doing?"

Tadashi froze. Gazed at the open door behind him via the mirror. Gazed at Hiro who stood by the door and who held a red box in hand. Gazed at Hiro's twitching expression. Gazed at his own reddening expression.

"I'll just…" Hiro averted his gaze and took a step backwards. "...go—" He froze as his eyes locked onto the dark swirls that painted the man's back. A smile flickered up his face. "Are those… _tattoos_?"

"H-Hiro…" Tadashi pressed testily.

But the adolescent was already darting across the room. He gently placed the red box in his corner of the room and then slyly headed towards the man. He skidded to a stop a foot or so away from Tadashi and studied the tattoos that decorated the man's body as a scientist would study a specimen.

"You better not be thinking what I think your thinking." Tadashi frowned, hands on hips. "Just because I…" He trailed off as he registered Hiro's expression.

The adolescent's eyes were somber, jaded; and his eyes drifted to a lower area of Tadashi's upper body. He was gazing at the medium-sized, pinkish scar that ran diagonally on the side of his stomach. It was about the size of a knife.

"Hiro," Tadashi sighed, not realizing what the adolescent was actually staring at, "tattoos are a commitment. You have to know for sure that you want it, before you get it 'cause your going to be stuck with it for life."

"That's..." Hiro frowned. "That's not it..." He paused, eyebrows furrowed. "Do you... Do you even remember getting those tattoos...?"

"I wish I did." Tadashi laughed in turn, before he rubbed the back of his head. "I'd really like to know what was going through the other me's mind..." He trailed off, his gaze becoming distant.

"'Dashi?"

Tadashi flinched as if he had been slapped and blinked down at the younger Hamada with a half-smile: "So how were the extra nerd lessons?"

"The usual." Hiro, hiding his worried expression, smirked back. "Let's just say that I ended up teaching the lessons again."

"I hope you weren't disrespectful." Tadashi frowned.

Hiro rolled his eyes.

"Hiro..."

"Oh!" The younger Hamada jumped suddenly and jerked his thumb back towards the door. "The others are here again. Visiting the resident nerd."

"Oh," Tadashi grinned mischievously, walking over to his dresser and pulling out a clean shirt and cardigan; he quickly slid the articles of clothing on and turned to face Hiro with a raised eyebrow, "you mean they're visiting _you_?"

"Probably." Hiro shot back with coyness. "Afterall, _you_ don't _have_ friends."

"Ha ha, very funny, Otouto." Tadashi rolled his eyes as he ruffled Hiro's hair and walked towards the door. "Come on. Let's go, resident nerd."

Hiro eagerly followed his brother out of the room, down the stairs, and into the bustling cafe.

It was quite busy in the cafe. Nearly all of the booths and tables were occupied by chattering customers; and nearly all of the aisles were occupied by bustling waiters and waitresses. Aunt Cass oversaw all of this chaos like a queen. She stood at the counter (that was — for some odd reason — toppled with orange lilies as well as morning glories and daffodils) while signing a receipt with one hand and punching buttons into the cash register with the other. Seeing this, Tadashi made his way over to her with a frown. Hiro trodded behind him and fingered the flowers decorating the counter top with a raised eyebrow.

"Aunt Cass," the older Hamada pressed, "do you need help?"

The older woman stared at him for a moment, before she grabbed his cheeks and pinched them.

"Ow!" Tadashi winced, causing Hiro to take a step backwards. It became evident that the latter was searching for a speedy exit. _Traitor!_, Tadashi thought in vain.

"Help?!" Aunt Cass shouted. "Of course I need help! Should I hire more workers? I should! But have I? No! Why? I don't know!"

Alas, Hiro then realized that he was a superhero and a person in distress (At the hands of an Aunt Cass in work-overdrive no less!) was standing right before him. It was his duty to save this distressed person — even if it meant he might get hurt in the process. Alas, the tragic story of the hero!

"H-Hey, Aunt Cass!" Hiro forced himself to take a step forward and leaned against the counter. "Where are the flowers from?"

Cass released Tadashi's cheeks from her death grip and blinked down at Hiro in surprise. Her attention was then drawn away to the wreath of flowers that grew around the cash register. She immediately broke out into a grin.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "They're a gift from the owner of the flower shop that just opened up two blocks down. The owner's son — Maeko, I think — brought them earlier today. Aren't they beautiful?"

Tadashi and Hiro exchanged glances, before they nodded in unison with matched tongue-in-cheek smiles.

"I think the shop is called… something Fields."

Tadashi blinked down at the assortment of flowers contemplatively. His eyes lingered on the orange lilies. They looked like they were beginning to wilt.

"Hmm." Tadashi frowned. "Are you and the owner of the flower shop on good terms, Aunt Cass?"

"For having just met each other," Aunt Cass replied, tapping at the register keyboard again, "I would have to say yes." She paused, gazing at him. "Why?"

"Nothing." Tadashi smiled lightly; he reached out and pressed one of orange lily petals between his fingertips. "It's just that orange lilies mean 'hatred' and 'revenge' in flower language. I thought it was kind of weird…"

"Do they?" Aunt Cass blinked in surprise, before she frowned. "That _is_ weird. I don't think I did anything to insult them…"

"I could be wrong…" Tadashi waved her off with a smile.

"Hey." Her head perked up suddenly; and she stared at the older Hamada with an impressed expression, "I didn't know that you spoke flower language."

And then Hiro's heart froze.

"Oh yeah," Tadashi explained, "I picked some of it from May…" He paused, his eyebrows becoming furrowed. "I learned it from…" He winced as a need-like pain pricked at his temple and a static sound rang in his ears. "I…" He bent over as the pain doubled tenfold and cradled his head head in his hand.

"Tadashi, honey, are you okay?!" Aunt Cass exclaimed, dropping the receipts in her hand and running around the counter to the young man's side.

"Nii-san!" Hiro whispered, grabbing Tadashi's arm to steady the man.

"Sorry…" Tadashi grimaced, rubbing his temple. "That was weird…"

"Are you okay?" Aunt Cass pressed, peering into his face.

"Yeah, yeah," Tadashi forced a smile and straightened himself, "I'm fine. Really."

"Nii-san…" Hiro bit his lip, his eyes taking that odd jadedness again. There was a dread building in his chest; and it weighed him down like shackled iron bolts.

It couldn't be happening now, could it? There was no way Tadashi was remembering all the painful things, right? Afterall, hadn't he _killed_ Kitsune...?

"Here," Cass pressed gently, "why don't you go upstairs and rest a little?"

Hiro gazed at his older brother with an expression of both uneasiness, worry, and fear.

"No," Tadashi shook his head and smiled brightly again, "I'm really fine." He paused to ruffle the concern off of Hiro's face by ruffling the adolescent's hair. "Anyways, do you need any help, Aunt Cass?"

The woman pursed her lips and gazed at him steadily. His expression was determined. She sighed at it, before she saw something out of the corner of her eye that caused her to smile.

"Alright then," she grinned, reaching over the counter and picking up a writing pad that lay on the other side of it; she handed the pad along with a pen to Tadashi and then nodded at an occupied booth that was in front of a window behind him, "why don't you two take down the order for the table over there?"

Tadashi took the pen and pad in hand and then turned to look over his shoulder. He broke out into a grin almost immediately. Nudging Hiro forward with his arm, the older Hamada approached the booth with an air of professionalism.

"Hello, strangers," Tadashi grinned at the booth-sitters as he clicked his pen and pressed it to the pad, "what can I get for you?"

"Tadashi!" One of the booth occupants — Honey Lemon specifically — broke out into a grin. "There you are! We've been waiting for you and Hiro."

"Hem, hem." Another one of the booth occupants — Fred specifically — cleared his throat. "I would like an order of bro-fist please."

Tadashi threw his head back and laughed, before he met Fred's raised fist with his own.

"Come on," Fred grinned as he nodded at Hiro as well, "don't leave me hanging, little man."

Hiro raised an eyebrow with a half-smile and met Fred's raised fist with his own.

"Now that'll be a thousand dollars." Tadashi quipped, feigning that he was scribbling something onto the pad.

"What? No bro-discount?" Fred feigned hurt.

"Not when you still owe me that CD I lent you a week back." Tadashi grinned pointedly with crossed arms.

"Here," another booth occupant — Wasabi — pipped as he scooted to the side and tapped the area beside him, "have a seat."

Hiro and Tadashi exchanged looks, before the former pushed the latter to the side and darted for the open seat. But alas, he was too slow. Tadashi quickly pulled him back by the back of his shirt, sidestepped past him, and slid into the open seat.

"Elders first," was his only comment.

"Hey!" Hiro scowled.

Tadashi simply raised a mischievous eyebrow in turn and tapped his legs expectantly. He jerked his head downwards towards his lap and flashed a half smile at Hiro. The adolescent braced himself and prepared to release the sassiest comment he could muster, before he suddenly recalled the instance (in which Tadashi had doubled over in pain) that had occurred earlier and paused.

"Don't blame me if I break your legs, Tadashi." Hiro rolled his eyes with a smirk as he plopped himself onto his older brother's lap.

The older Hamada started in surprise at the sudden contact but wrapped his arms around his brother's waist nonetheless. He hadn't expected Hiro to do such a thing. And without that much of a fight too. Something wasn't right...

"So," the final booth occupant — Gogo — finally spoke as she leaned back and crossed her arms, "how has that 'house arrest' been going for you?"

"Well," Tadashi shrugged, "there hasn't been much to do so I've just been reading old textbooks and comics twenty-four-seven. I've been itching to get back to school though."

"Once a nerd always a nerd." Hiro quipped.

"You do realize that you _are_ one of those nerds," Wasabi grinned from beside him, "right? We're like a gaggle of nerds."

"Poor guy. He's delusional." Tadashi sighed dramatically as he smiled at Hiro's miffed expression and side glanced Wasabi who chuckled. "Convinced himself that he's a cool kid."

"I dunno, man." Fred pipped, reaching across the table for the mug of latte he had ordered earlier. "Hiro is pretty cool."

"See," Hiro thumbed the man, "Fred knows what he's talking about."

"Wellll, I think we're all pretty cool." Honey Lemon pipped, whipping out her phone and snapping a picture of her own latte. "It all has to do with perspective. Like art and angles in one."

"You're giving them all too much credit." Gogo noted, blowing on her bubblegum and popping it in her mouth.

It was at this instance that Tadashi found himself drifting away from the conversation. It wasn't as if the conversation wasn't interesting or amusing, because it certainly was. He just felt strangely disconnected from it all — like the snowflakes that were lazily sauntering downwards from the raked sky beyond the windowpane. They had a somewhat disconnected manner about them too.

Disconnection.

There was a young man standing across the street from the cafe. He was wearing a navy cap and a trenchcoat — it was covered in a thin layer of snow — that was navy. Clasped tightly in his hands was a bouquet of flowers. Orange lilies. The flowers stood out like the sun in the stale white surroundings. The clouds — crowds of ambling pedestrians — on the earthy ground would drift past it's sunny petals every few seconds.

Tadashi stared at the man.

He recalled the instance a week and a half prior when he himself had recieved a bouquet of flowers. They were hand delivered by Abigail Callaghan, daughter of Professor Callaghan. He had been pleasantly surprised at her visit. At that time, he had yet to discover what had happened to his professor. Although his friends and his brother told him that the professor was well, they wouldn't give him any specific details about him and they would always change the subject whenever the man was brought up. So, Tadashi had to learn from Abigal the fate of his professor. Tadashi hadn't known what he had been more hurt by— the fact that his idol had tried to harm the people that mattered most to him or the fact that the people that mattered most to him hadn't told him the fact in the first place. It made him wonder whether or not they were keeping anything else from him.

The young man across the street stared back at Tadashi.

Their eyes met.

A short mop of black hair. Dark eyes, round like marbles. Long lashes that sprouted from pale, heavy lids like cropped grass—

—- Tadashi's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened. His ears rang. His head buzzed. His stomach lurched. Something wasn't right.

_That person should be..._

**"Maya Rice... Prettiest name on the earth!"**

_...__dead__?_ —

"Tadashi?"

The older Hamada started, jarring the adolescent who had called his name, and snapped his head forward. He found himself being barraged with worried stares.

"Hey, Tadashi," Honey Lemon frowned gently as she reached across the table and touched his arm gently, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, sorry," Tadashi shook his head, before he threw another glance out of the window. "It's just that... I thought I saw..."

The young man was gone.

Maya was...

...gone?

Wait.

Maya?

Who was that?

"... Nevermind." Tadashi shook his head again, before he found himself wincing in pain at the familiar sharpness that shot through his temple. The action warranted him looks of surprise, concern, and hesitation.

"You alright, man?" Wasabi pressed, exchanging a glance with Gogo. "You don't look too good."

"Just a really bad headache all of a sudden." Tadashi muttered under breath. "I'll be fine."

Honey Lemon and Fred exchanged looks. Hiro turned and searched his brother's face as if he were expecting a complete stranger to pop up in his place at any second.

"Tadashi," Honey Lemon frowned, "are you sure you don't want to — I don't know — maybe rest for a little while?"

"I've been resting all day." Tadashi waved her off with a quirky smile. "I don't think I could rest anymore even if I tried."

Honey Lemon pursed her lips at him and then suddenly jumped up in her seat and clasped her hands together. The action caused Gogo, who was seated next to her, to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"I almost forgot, Tadashi!" Honey Lemon exclaimed, whipping out her purse and digging through its contents. "I got you a thing!"

"A thing she says!" Tadashi grinned.

"Yup! A thing!" Honey grinned as she pulled out the thing and gently placed it the man's hands.

Tadashi blinked down at it, as did Hiro who craned his neck.

It was a fuzzy orange thing with black beads as eyes and a sewn on mouth that was shaped like a three. A silver strap was connected to its head.

"Isn't it so cute?" Honey Lemon grinned. "I wanted to pay you back for the phone case you gave me a while go; and since my phone case was foxed-themed, I thought 'why not get him a fox-themed keychain'? Gogo helped pick it out for me!"

"Only 'cause you dragged me to go shopping with you." Gogo shrugged with an air of apathy, betraying the small smile that graced her face.

A small chuckle rang out. All heads at the table turned.

"I'm sorry for laughing. It really _is_ cute." Tadashi nodded, wiping a tear from his eye. "But… this isn't a fox." He held the keychain up by the strap and rested his elbow on the table. "It's a racoon dog."

"A racoon dog?" Wasabi grimaced. "That doesn't sound friendly."

"_Well_, they're actually known for being tricksters in mythology." Tadashi noted.

"Aw," Honey Lemon frowned, "sorry, Tadashi."

"Huh?" Tadashi blinked, before he realized his mistake and smiled apologetically. "No, no! I really like it. Racoon dogs are actually luck bringers, so I guess I have a bit of Honey Lemon and Gogo luck on my side now."

"Wow." Hiro raised an eyebrow. "That was actually kind of smooth. I'm impressed."

"Huh?" Tadashi frowned in confusion.

"Five points." Gogo smirked.

"Really?" Hiro smirked as well. "I'd give him ten."

"I'd give him over nine-thousand." Fred nodded deeply.

"Er... What?" Tadashi blanched, before he waved their comments off and returned his attention to the keychain. "In Japanese, these guys are called Tanuki."

Hiro and Wasabi froze at the word. But the world continued spinning on.

"Anyways," Tadashi continued, pocketing the keychain gingerly, "I'll put this on my phone when I head upstairs later. Thanks again!"

He paused suddenly, his eyes falling onto one of the latte-filled glass cup on the table. Frowning, he reached for it and peered into its contents. The overwhelming aroma of sugar and caffeine flooded his senses.

"Fred," Tadashi raised an eyebrow, "you do realize that this is like the strongest latte we make here, right? It's like Red Bull times Monster times a whole lot of sugar. You're not going to be able to sleep tonight."

"You underestimate my sleeping abilities, my friend." Fred grinned easily as he leaned back into his seat. "One time, I drank five gallons of Monster when I was at this frat party; and next thing I know, I'm asleep in the water fountain!"

"Surprised that you're still alive." Gogo noted.

"Dude, same." Fred clapped his hands together. "It was the ride of my life—-Oh! Look!"

With widened eyes, Fred stood up, slammed his hand against the tabletop, and pointed at the television screen that hung on the wall behind Tadashi's head. All eyes turned towards the screen. Four out of six eyes widened as they registered what was playing out on the screen.

A large headline flickered at the bottom of the video feed — "Big Hero Six take down the Purple Scarves and Vendette Gang".

"Hm?" Tadashi frowned. "The Big Hero Six, huh?"

A pink-suited woman surrounded by seven gangly men appeared on the screen. It appeared as if she were outmatched by them; but then, quickly and suddenly, she drew out five gelatinous orbs from the purse-looking contraption that hung at her side and chucked them at the feet of the seven men. The balls hurtled through the air and then splattered at the men's feet. The glob that the ball released solidified into a concrete-like substance that swallowed their legs.

The video feed changed again.

A yellow-suited woman appeared on the screen. Yellow disks whirled around her like small cyclones. The disks slammed into the opponents surrounding her like bullets.

Without realizing what he was doing, Tadashi reached up to his face and ran his fingers along the small scar above his right eye. Gogo gazed at him in surprise and then frowned.

The video feed changed again.

A monstrous-looking man was fighting alongside a green-suited man who looked as if he had lasers for hands.

Again. It changed.

Now, a purple-suited man — adolescent? — appeared on the screen. Next to him was a large, red giant. The purple-suited adolescent raised his hand and brought it down. A black mass swept across the screen.

"Wait a minute..." Tadashi snapped as he registered the moving black mass. "That's…!"

_Oh shit_, Hiro thought.

_Oh, sugar honey iced tea_, Wasabi thought.

_Ah, this might not turn out well_, Honey Lemon thought.

_Dude, we look great on TV, _Fred thought.

_Meh_, Gogo thought.

But before any verbal annunciation could be made about the images flashing across the screen, the moving images became replaced by something completely different. The words 'Breaking News' flashed across the screen; and the words too were soon replaced — by a crisply dressed anchorwoman who wore a grim expression.

"This just in," the anchorwoman drew in a husky tone, "renown philanthropist Kenji Brian—"

The five heroes froze in their seats.

"Hey," Wasabi laughed nervously, "why don't we, uh, change the channel?"

"G-Good idea!" Hiro squeaked, scrambling off of his brother's lap to go in search of it; when he received yet another strange (and not to mention frustrated and disbelieving) look from his brother, he laughed nervously. "Where is that darn remote?"

"— has been reported dead." The anchorwoman finished.

At the final spoken word, Hiro found himself freezing in his tracks and staring up at the screen in disbelief.

"Oh no…" Honey Lemon bit her lips.

"The man was most known for," the anchorwoman woman continued, "being a sponsor of the biological division of a multiconglomerate corporation known as CASCO."

A logo, black against white, flashed on the screen next to the woman's head. CASCO.

Tadashi stared at the logo.

He knew that logo.

He knew that logo.

He _hated_ that logo.

His breath hitched; his lashes fluttered; his eyes widened; his pupils dilated. And then…

... _**pain**_.

"Agh!"

The cry escaped Tadashi's mouth as an unbearable sharpness pierced his temple like a knife piercing flesh.

[He doubled over and cradled his screaming head in his left hand; his right hand tightened around the glass cup like a cobra squeezing the life out of its prey. The pain was so unbearable that he couldn't tell which hand was his left and which was his right; the distinction was nonexistent.]

… _A knife piercing flesh?_

["Tadashi!?"]

_Yes. A knife piercing flesh. Over and over again. _

_Why?_

_To collect the white bands._

_| Collect the white bands._

[His fingertips dug into his scalp. Maybe if he scrapped at his head fiercely enough, the pain would stop…?

The glass cup held in his other hand began to crack beneath the pressure of his fingertips. Splinters formed along its surface, mimicking the patterns of the falling snowflakes beyond the window.

Someone was touching him. Shaking him. Holding him.]

_White bands._

_White. _

_White shirts. White walls. White eyelids from which long lashes sprouted like cropped grass. White smile._

[The glass cup shattered into fragments. The translucent petals dug into his flesh like thorns. Crimson dew seeped upwards from in between the thorns and flesh.

The glass shards lay at his palms. No, he was holding them tightly in his hand. A weapon. He was holding a weapon—]

_If he slid the glass shard into the slit at the side of (__**her**__) throat, it would fit perfectly. _

No.

No.

No.

[They were shaking him again — he hated being touched.

Calling his name.

"Tadashi Hamada".

No. That wasn't right. That wasn't his name.

He was—]

"Tadashi!"

And then the scattered shards — the puzzle pieces — within his mind were messily forced back together. He saw the picture somewhat more clearly now. He was sitting at a booth in the cafe. Everyone in the cafe was staring at him.

But why?

He lowered his hand that held his head and that obscured his vision.

Hiro was at his side, and Wasabi was too. Fred was there as well. Honey Lemon was kneeling in front of him; and she was holding his right hand in her own. Gogo was standing behind her and was handing her a wet napkin. Honey Lemon took the napkin in her hand and pressed it against his palm.

He couldn't tell whether it was warm or cold.

Aunt Cass then entered his peripheral vision; and everyone — save for Hiro — moved aside for her. She bent down next to him and took his right hand into her own. She removed the wet napkin that had been pressed on top of it.

And it was then that Tadashi realized what everyone in the cafe had been staring at. His hand. It looked like it had been through a blender. Translucent thorns protruded from his open palm like trees sprouting from the ground. It looked like it hurt, but he couldn't feel whether it really did hurt or not. In fact, he couldn't feel it at all.

He watched as his aunt's lips moved. What was she saying? He couldn't hear her. She looked up at him; and her lips moved in the same way as before. She looked at him with concern, worry, affection. But… did he even know this person?

"_Nii-san."_

The phrase broke through the underwater blurring sounds that rang in his ear; and Tadashi started, turning to blink at his little brother in stupor. And then he winced — not because of the dulling pain in his temple, but because of the pulsing throb in his right palm.

"Ow!" Tadashi hissed, recoiling his hand.

The pain in his temple stopped. The strange burning in his chest died away.

All that was left was confusion.

"What…?" Tadashi mumbled stupidly.

The young man barely had the time to blink, before Aunt Cass wordlessly guided him out of his seat and out of the room through a swinging door. Hiro and the others followed behind the two; but while Hiro pressed through the swinging door and into the next room, the others paused by the door uncertainly.

The first thing Aunt Cass did when they entered the room was push Tadashi down into one of the chairs placed around the dining table that was placed at the center of the room. She bent down beside him and spread his right hand open. He winced in turn.

"Hiro," she said quietly, "get me the first aid kid, a bowl, a wet towel, and tweezers."

"Y-yeah!" Hiro nodded fiercely.

He scrambled around the room and retrieved the first aid kit from the cupboards and the tweezers and bowl from the dish rack. He whipped off the cat-themed towel that was hanging on the handle of the oven and ran it under the sink. Nearly tripping over his own two feet, the adolescent ran to his aunt's side and shoved the items he had retrieved into her hands.

Cass took the tweezers and placed the first aid kit, the towel, and the bowl onto the table. She cupped Tadashi's injured hand gently in her own and bit her lips as she stared down at his glass-ridden palm.

"This might hurt a lot." She sighed.

Holding the tweezers steadily in her other hand, she used the item to pluck one of the shards from his palm. Tadashi winced, causing Hiro to wince. Aunt Cass winced as well, tossed the shard into the bowl, and gazed up into her nephew's face.

"Honey..." She drew slowly. "What happened...?"

There was a pause of silence.

Hiro studied his brother warily while gripping the back of the chair the latter was sitting on tightly.

"I..." Tadashi blinked. "I don't know..." He shook his head in confusion. "I was talking to Fred and then..." He trailed off and gazed at his palm. He winced again as his aunt pulled out another glass shard and tossed it into the bowl.

"Nii-san..." Hiro mumbled. "Does your head still hurt...?"

Tadashi raised his head and stared at his brother, stared at his brother's wary and worried expression. And then he broke out into a half-smile.

"I'm fine, Hiro." Tadashi reassured him, before he added a rather toying comment: "I'm deeply touched that you're concerned for me though ."

Hiro blinked in surprise — in relief, actually — before a scowling expression stretched across his face.

"I-I'm not concerned..." Hiro muttered, averting his gaze. "I just don't want my personal and not to mention _free_ cleaning maid to get injured."

Tadashi smiled tiredly but knowingly at his comment. He winced as another shard was plucked from his palm.

"Oh, Hiro," Aunt Cass turned her head distractedly in his direction, "could you stop by the pharmacy for me real quick? The doctor just signed off a prescription for Tadashi earlier today."

Hiro's head perked up, and he nodded rigidly.

"Wait," Tadashi frowned, "I can go pick it up later instead."

"Oh no you can't, mister." Aunt Cass frowned back at him. "You're grounded, remember?"

"Grounded at eighteen." Hiro smirked. "So sad." When he recieved a biting glare from the man, he winced and waved him off. "Don't give yourself a heart attack. Imma ask the others to come with me. I'll be back in a few."

And with that, Hiro departed.

Tadashi could vaguely hear the muffled conversation playing out between his brother and his friends from beyond the closed door. He had probably worried them to death. And his aunt too. The very thought of such a thing caused a sharp pang of guilt to stab his heart.

Another glass shard clattered into the bowl. The last one.

The warm towel was removed from the table and pressed gently against his palm. The heat soaked up the stinging pain and the red that was caked in between the folds of his skin. The towel was removed, and Tadashi found himself missing its warmth.

"Doesn't look like you're going to need stitches..."

He watched as his aunt reached for the first aid kid and clicked it open. It was filled to the brim with packaged bandaids, snap-and-go ice packs, aloe cream, and a ring of gauze. She pulled out the gauze and began to wrap it carefully around his widespread hand. He watched her affectionately. And as he gazed at her, he realized that he felt like a kid again. It was a foreign feeling to him.

"There!" Cass grinned, tucking one end of the gauze beneath another; she came to a stand, hands on hips. "Looks like nursing school payed off after all!"

"Thanks, Aunt Cass." He smiled lightly. "Sorry for taking up your time..."

She snapped down to a crouch at his statement. He started at her action and started even more when she clasped his hands in her own.

"Tadashi, never say that you're sorry for taking up my time." Aunt Cass murmured quietly, yet fiercely. "When you say it like that, you make it sound like you're wasting my time. And the time I spend with you and Hiro is never wasted. Okay?"

Tadashi nodded silently with slightly widened eyes.

"Now, get some sleep!"

And with that order hanging in the air, she marched off towards the doorway.

"Aunt Cass..." Tadashi drew slowly and quietly. "I still want to help out at the cafe."

Aunt Cass paused by the doorway and slowly looked over her shoulder.

"You're overworking yourself, Aunt Cass. And I'm under working myself right now... So..."

"You're going to be the death of me..." Cass sighed dramatically, before she nodded at him with a smile. "Well, your apron is still in the cupboard. First thing you should do is help Katie clean up the booth you all were sitting at. "

Tadashi smiled back softly at her.

* * *

The streets of San Fransokyo had always been dabbled with interesting characters whether it was in the early morning or late afternoon; and it was very common for these characters to interact. That was the reason why the two men strolling down the sidewalks of the city's Magnolia Plaza did not turn heads, despite their odd nature. Despite their odd conversation:

"Mm, Tako, tell me again. I forgot. Why are we here again? It's cold. My butt is cold."

"Ah, Monkey. I see that you haven't been paying attention again. We're here because someone is trying to give out spoilers for our story before our story is even published."

"Spoilers?! Ah! That's no fun!"

"And that's why we need to catch our little snitch before the cat is let out of the bag. Did you know? Our snitch appears to have relations to one of the failed trial participants from 5b. Maeko Rice — she's kind of funny, don't you agree...?"

A cafe shop came into view causing one of the men too pause and stare. This man then skipped up to the windowpane of the shop and pressed his face up against it.

"Monkey," the other man asked with an amused smile, "what are you doing?"

The other man did not answer. Instead, he squinted past the thin glass and peered into the bustling shop. It looked warm and colorful in there compared to the cold and dull outside. Everyone within the shop looked as if they were enjoying themselves. Even the waiters and waitresses looked like they were enjoying themselves—-

—- the man's eyes widened as he registered one of the smiling waiters. And he peeled himself away from the window and shouted to the man standing behind him as he jabbed his finger at the glass: "Tako! Tako! Look at that! Ah! Look! It's Kitsune, isn't it?! He's alive!"

The other man, Tako, straightened in surprise and quickly strode to the window as well. He winced at the brightness in the building, but his eyes soon adjusted. And his eyes soon widened.

They both found themselves gazing at the same person in the cafe: a young and familiar man. Thr young man stood with his back slightly turned to them. A green apron was tied around his waist and a pen and pad were held in his hands. Pinkness stretched over his left arm and the left upper side of his face.

"Oh? Hmm, he does look quite a lot like Fox…" Tako tilted his head as a curious smile played upon his lips. "How curious…" He paused and registered the smile that graced the face of the man he was observing. "Huh? What is this? But he looks awfully happy over there…" A rare frown took the place of his easy smile. "Tadashi Hamada was it, perhaps? What a wonderful distraction!"

"Herm… He looks like he's really enjoying himself!" The man beside him noted with an enthusiastic smile.

"Yes, you're right…" Tako agreed, tapping his fingers against the side of his leg in thought; he clenched his fists suddenly and then unclenched them. "It's a bit irritating isn't it?"

"Rating…? Rating what?"

"Fox was a piece of art — a wonderful masterpiece of what true humanity looks like." Tako explained, turning on his heels and spreading his hands out widely. "Apathy. Greed. Self-preservation. But, he was also torn and tortured between that and love. Care. Charity. Self-sacrifice. Straggling back and forth between the imperceptible line of black and white morality. His slow descent into madness was… splendid! But, seeing him now…" Tako lowered his hands and glanced over his shoulder.

"Saru doesn't understand what you're talking about…." Saru frowned.

"Say," Tako clasped his hands together as a conductor would when preparing to direct an orchestra, "wouldn't this story be so much better if Tadashi disappeared? No… If he _died_?"

"Mmm…" Saru tilted his head. "You're not a nice person are you?"

Tako didn't respond to the inquiry and instead headed into the cafe shop. The other man trailed behind him.

…

The first thing Tadashi wanted to do when he greeted his sixth and seventh customer of the day was stab his sixth customer in the eye with his pen. It was a strange and overwhelming urge, but he quickly covered it up with a smile:

"Welcome to the Lucky Cat Cafe!"

The sixth customer — the taller and darker-haired one — returned his smile with an air of pleasantness. The seventh customer, on the other hand, gazed around the shop in wonder. They both looked rather odd.

"Any place in particular you'd like to sit?" Tadashi asked.

"A window seat would be marvelous." The sixth customer nodded in an oddly sly tone.

_A window seat? How about I push you out of a window._

Yet again Tadashi was attacked by a strange strain of thought. Yet again he pushed the strain to the back of his mind.

"Right this way." He nodded at the customers.

Gripping his pad and pen under his arm, he led them to an open booth that was situated next to a window. The two slid easily into opposite sides of the booth. Tadashi when to retrieve menus for them and placed the menus onto the table.

"Do you need some time to look over the menu or—-"

"Have you ever heard of the 'centipede's dilemma'?"

Tadashi blinked in surprise and stared down at the sixth customer who had asked the sudden question. He glanced around the shop, before he scratched the back of his head with his pen and laughed: "I don't think I have. What is it?"

The sixth customer frowned at his laugh, before he brightened again and folded his arms over the table.

"It's when a normally automatic or unconscious activity is disrupted by consciousness of it or reflection on it." The customer explained. "For example, breathing is a thing you do unconsciously, right? What happens when you become conscious of your own breathing? It becomes harder to breathe, right? Another example is when a golfer thinks to hard about the way he swings and finds that he no longer knows how to do it."

_You should try to become self-conscious of living. That way I won't have to waste my time — Jesus Christ! What is wrong with me? _

"Oh, _well_," Tadashi nodded slowly, "that's interesting alright." He unconsciously tapped his pen against his pad.

"Keeping that in mind," the customer continued, running his fingertips along the binding of his menu, "what do you think would happen if someone became self conscious of a feeling, like — let's say — happiness? Would he or she no longer be able to feel happy?"

"Hm..." Tadashi frowned thoughtfully, before he offered the man a half-smile "I doubt that. Happiness is everywhere. If you find yourself losing some of it, someone or something else will be there to give you more."

Tadashi could practically hear Hiro calling him a sentimental, corny nerd from for away.

"Oh," the customer smiled thinly up at him, "is that the way you think now?"

"Huh?"

"Well," the customer drew deeply, reaching into his pocket and pulling out several slips of small red paper, "since you've so kindly fed my fancy, I'll give you these."

He shoved the papers into Tadashi's hands; and Tadashi, nearly dropping his pen and pad, took them from him in confusion.

"They're tickets for the winter festival coming up in a week." The customer explained as he rose from his seat. He nodded at the strange man (?) who was accompanying him, before he returned his attention to Tadashi. "You should go and take your family and friends with you."

_I don't need any of your useless trash. _

"I..." Tadashi shook his head and smiled apologetically. "Thank you very much, but I can't take these."

"Yes, you can, Fox." The customer stated calmly, turning to look at him with utmost steadiness. "You can take anything you want in the world, and so can I."

And with those words hanging in the air, the sixth customer left with the seventh customer in tow. It took Tadashi a while to realize that they hadn't ordered anything. (_What a waste,_ a voice whispered at the very back of his head.) It took him even longer to realize that, for a second there, he had thought of 'Fox' as his name.

* * *

The general hospital, despite being a place of recovery and healing, was awfully dreadful at night. With dim lights casting demonic shadows across the empty halls, it was only several straws short of appearing like a living hell. In one of the many offices that littered the building, two men were conversing:

"Boss, I came across something rather interesting today. A secret, per say—

"Tako. The trials are over."

"... What? So soon? Has a successful formula been achieved?"

"No. But Keshiki's condition has plummeted. This is it. There's only going to be one more trial with only more participant. This time it _will_ be perfect. It has to be."

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear about Keshiki. This is urgent then. May I ask if you have anyone in mind?"

"I do. Two actually, but I want to start with a clean slate. Besides, I'm certain that only one of them will produce the results that I need. The data syncs up nearly perfectly."

"Oh?"

"I don't care how but I want you to retrieve the boy known as Hiro Hamada."

* * *

_Next Chapter_: Shiro Usagi (白ウサギ)

∟ "White Rabbit"

...

_The headaches had been getting worse. _

_..._

_Usagi sighed in exasperation and gripped Hebi by the shoulders tightly. The young girl scowled at his actions and smacked his hands away._

"_Stop following me!" She hissed._

"_Now, now. You know that I can't do that." He replied in an amused tone. "Ookami would have my head if I let you go off and do something stupid." _

"_But I'm not doing something stupid." Hebi shot back testily; she crossed her arms. "What's stupid is that you're holding me back!" _

"_And it's smart of you to go barging into one of the houses of the Big Hero Six." Usagi raised an eyebrow. His tone was still amused._

"_Yes!" Hebi nodded fiercely. "Duh! They're probably hiding my dear Kitsune away!" She huffed, hands on hips. "It's so cliche of them, don't you think?"_

"_Little snake," Usagi sighed, the amused twinkle in his eyes dissipating, "don't you think there's a reason why Kitsune hasn't retu—_

"_Don't you say it!" Hebi hissed, biting her lip. "There's no way!"_

_And before Usagi could stop her, Hebi turned and broke off into a sprint. She, ignoring Usagi's shouts from behind her, tore the crowd of pedestrians at an improbable speed. Her rapidly beating heart fueled her pace; and the world past her by in a blur._

_She wouldn't believe it. _

_She __**couldn't**__ believe it._

_Kitsune couldn't possible be dead—_

—_-Bam!_

_Her tiny body collided with a large body; and she fell backwards onto the cement ground. A plethora of papers fluttered down like snowflakes around her; and the sweet scent of coffee fogged up the air. Sitting in front of her and covered in sheets of paper and spilt coffee was her assailant. _

"_Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" _

_Her assailant scrambled onto to his knees and scrambled over to her side. He reached over and gently touched her shoulder to steady her._

"_Are you okay?" _

"_No, I'm not okay!" She scowled intensely, shaking off the man's touch. "And you __**should**__ be sorry! Watch where you're goin—"_

_Hebi's voice died in her throat as she registered her assailant's face. Her assailant's handsome face that was painted with pinkish scars. Her assailant's concerned expression. Her assailant's soft demeanor._

_Everything about him was a contradiction from what she knew (Something was clearly wrong here. That concerned softness was unfamiliar to her.), but—_

— _she found her eyes watering. Her lips parted into a quivering grin of disbelief. _

"_I knew it!" She shouted in a whisper. "I knew it!"_

_It was then that Usagi broke through the encircling crowd that surrounded Hebi and her so-called assailant. And when his eyes fell on his assailant's form, he froze altogether._

"_... Kitsune?"_

…

"_It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hamada. I am Maeko Rice."_

…

_It was strange. They pricked at his skin. They sent chills down his spine. He felt them from every direction. Observing eyes that is. Hiro supposed that he could possibly just be paranoid, but—_

— _he felt like he was being watched._

...

"_Are you Tadashi Hamada's brother?"_

_"Uh, yes... Why?"_

_"How is he...?"_

_"He's fine. Tired sometimes and he gets headaches sometimes too, but he's fine. Why?"_

_"Oh, that's good. It's just that I thought he wasn't ready to leave the hospital yet. I was thinking that it was strange that Doctor Long released him so early, but I guess he was right."_

_..._

_"Alright, alright. What is it, Otouto?" _

_"Okay, answer me seriously, okay?"_

_"I'm always serious, Hiro. My last name is Serious."_

_"Nii-san!"_

_"Ow! Okay, okay! I'm listening!"_

_"What if... What if you could help a ton of people — save a ton of people — but you had to hurt one person to do it? What would you do?"_

* * *

**A/N**: And here is another long chapter even though I previously said that the next few chapters would be shorter. Ah, well. What happens happens. Sooo, this story is drawing closer and closer to the end! Huzzah! It looks like I'll actually manage to finish the story!

Oh, by the way, are there any characters you would like me focus more on? Any interactions in particular that'd you like me to add?

On a more personal note, I just realized today that I haven't actually read read any books that I've actually really enjoyed in like over four years. I mean, I do read assigned books, but none of them are really… I dunno. Eye-catching. The last one that I've read — /cough: sparknoted — was Heart of Darkness; and I'm supposed to be reading Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man right now; and it's honestly torture; so I guess what I'm trying to say with this long-winded paragraph is… Do any of you have good book recommendations?

Thanks to all who read, followed, and favorited! /small tear. O-Over 200 favs/follows…? /tears of joy. Thank you all so much o u o!

Hugs and kisses go out to —

GalacticTrooper954: Lol, those references — I understood all of them! xD. Your Hulk-smash rage is understandable though.

jayswing96: You are correct, my friend! o u o

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Many thanks! c; I appreciate how you always cheer me on every chapter! /sparklesparkle.

Random Reader 17: Well, I can tell you that things will hit the fan in chapter 20. And an original story…? Herm… That's really flattering o u o. But it also sounds kind of difficult… xD.

Artemis173: You're hope will come true in future chapters. /winkwonk. And it's alright! I think I'm going to enjoy writing a heart-broken Hebi, so I guess I'm kind of mean too xD.

TadashiFan: Many thanks, friend! o u o. Your feeling is on point.

reclused-cat: /heavy breathing. You read Tokyo Ghoul: re?! /grabs your shoulders. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KANEKI KEN, MAN.

bukulay: /evil cackle. We'll see what happens… Those Arcana things are good matches though! /nodnod. And many thanks!

kokolicious: Yus. That shiz will go down in the next chapter. /nodnod.

Producciones Escudo: Yeah, this part of the story will mostly serve as a kind of "building up" for the final part, so it may seem a bit slow. Sorry 'bout that! Things will pick up after chapter 20 though! You're the younger sibling, huh? I'm an older sibling xD.

MangaMan9000: Ah, it's fine! Life is rough sometimes — I completely understand, man. Can I ask what type of book you're writing? I'm glad that my story has managed to strike a chord or two in your feels (?). Ah, yes. Tadashi will not be pleased when he finds out about the identities of the BH6. Poor Taka indeed. He and Fred have formed a bro-ship though, so it'll all be good-ish. Oh, I can see the similarities between Luka and Sasori! I feel like Luka is a bit more serious than Sasori though xD. And a crime-fighting trio with Sasori, Taka, and Fred? Herm, I feel like they could beat up criminals by just talking tbh xDD. As for Neko… the kiss was purely platonic. /nodnod. More about Usagi in the next chapter though! And yes, Saru is the way he is partially because of Tako, but it's also because of the side-effects of the formula. Lol, Imma actually use some of the underwater animal names in the future. /winkwonk. Lol, yes, Convergence Theory. I'm just a lame-o who reuses jokes xD. I'm not sure when I'm going to update that one though… Many thanks for your in-depth analysis once again! /hugs and kisses.

Avatar4Ever: I agree with the better-gender thing completely xD. Ah yes, poor Tada-kun v n v. Yeah, a lot of people are surprised that I like my younger brother too, but he's adorable, so shhh. I'm sorry that you and your older sister don't get along though Dx. That sucks, man. /patpat.

FanGirlJen: It's fine! ;3. I'm glad that you're caught up again! (Actually, fanfic was down for like an entire day two weeks ago, so that might've been why).

skydancerfyremagyk: YES. INTENSE FEELIES. Here's an update for you! I love snickerdoodle cookies btw. They're delicious. Lol, I'm glad that Neko inspired you xDD.

Hellbound-Shadow: Poor Tadashi indeed. Ah! Woah! /holds hands up in the air. Here's an update! DontthrowawaymylollipopPLEASE. xD

hy0rinlove: LMFAO. That "Blue skidoo, we can too" thing made me laugh for a good minute. /wipes tears from eyes. That was brilliant xD. Rambling about feels is a brilliant way to review, so don't sweat it! /nodnod. You're on point if you're feeling uneasy. Tadashi will certainly… have a lot of issues that he needs to face. Hiro too, tbh. My poor babies. Lol, your love for Aunt Cass is strong. She's great though. I probably already said this, but she's going to play a larger role in future chapters. Poor Project Animal bbs too. I'm glad that you enjoyed Sasori though xD. Ookami'll have a somewhat enlarged role later too. As for Hebi, well… awkward interactions in the next chapter for sure. Yes, Tako is a bastard; yes, he will more or less get what he deserves eventually. The bastard. I'm glad that you enjoyed the Fred moments and the other fluffy moments too. o u o. I'll try to be gentle when torturing the characters, I promise v n v. XDD. Ah, it's alright. I spent my Valentine's Day writing this fic and watching Netflix. It's all good! /sparlkesparkle. I actually knew that the first review was from you even though you didn't add your pseudonym. /places hand on your shoulder. WE HAVE A RAINBOW CONNECTION. /shotdead.

TerribleTerrors: HERM. Well, Tako does have a specific goal in mind — I'll tell you that much. /winkwonk. Oh! Yes, I do know of the Sasori from Naruto! That guy really needs a hug, even if he was an emotionless murderer — but it wasn't his fault dammit. And Itachi too. Damnit. Everyone in that manga/anime needs a hug. Oh! I like your profile pic btw. Nalu ftw. Eek, blushing again v-v. Oh, about the in-depth character descriptions… I'm going to probably put them in the next chapter, because I'm getting sort of paranoid about the word count of this chapter. v-v. I could PM the descriptions to you now if you'd like. ;o. I'm really flattered that you want to draw fanart for it though. Ack! Blushing again. /sigh. Ah, thank you for recommending my story to other people! You have no idea how happy and flattered that makes me feel o u o. I'm glad your friends enjoyed the thing!

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Sorry for your emotional turmoil, friend! But at the same time… I'm glad that my story gave you the feels? o u o;;. Many thanks for your compliments!

One Bright Light: Ah, you're sadism is 100% understandable. And Keiji means 'cage' in Japanese. /nodnod. And (spoilers), another name in this fic means 'cage' as well. /legasp. Yes, angry fans will come charging at them with pitchforks if they try to kill Tadashi xD.

2yuki7: Ack! /patpathughug. Don't cry, friend! You're on point about the calm before the storm thing though. /nodnod. Dang, that sucks that you lost your email-tracking device. I hope you find it soon, friend! Happy Chinese New Year!

Amaryllis: /evil cackle. /shotdead. Btw, I like your user/handle thing. Amaryllises are really pretty.

Guest (1): Many thanks! o u o.

SocialMisfits: Ah, thank you very much for the compliments, friend! /sparklesparkle. Yeah, I agree about the Tadashi thing. v-v. All I can say right now is to prepare for the worst. v-v. Thank you, again, for your compliments! o u o.

Tony18: Ah, sure! xD No problem! Aw, that last comment was so sweet it made me tear up a little and smile like an idiot. o u o. Many thanks, friend!

Fujhi poudes-Escapa non: Many thanks! You're right about the Tadashi's flashbacks thing. Although Tadashi doesn't remember the BH6, he still get's the 'feeling'... if that makes sense..? Idk. And Hiro is definitely going to be super-duper nii-san protective which kind of will get him into a mess in the future. You're kinda/sorta right about the Tako thing. But he also is just a plain sadist too, so. Interactions between Project Animal group people and Tadashi in the next chapter though! You're a really good predictor, do you know that? I applaud you, my friend! Thanks for your compliments and input! /hugs and kisses.

AwesomeWriter2013: Many thanks, friend! o u o. I'm glad that you're enjoying the fic! I actually like describing things in detail, like how the words fit together sometimes and sound nice and smooth, y'know? /derp. I'm just a nerd. Anyways, thanks once again!


	19. White Rabbit

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Nineteenth Encounter: _Shiro Usagi (白ウサギ)

∟ "White Rabbit"

* * *

In one district of the city — in the slums, where the acrid scent of tobacco intermingled with the bogginess of clogged sewage, to be precise — a nicely dressed man was conversing with a group of not-so-nicely dressed men and women:

"_Hello, hello!"_

"'Hello, hello,' he says after everything — isn't that just plain irritating, boss? We should teach him a thing or two."

"_You're hurting my feelings now. I haven't done anything wrong to you, and you're treating me horribly now."_

"'Haven't done anything wrong,' he says! You set us up! Four of our best men are now locked up in the city prison because of you. Taken out by the Big Hero Six in some shady facility, no less!"

"_Ah, yes. That was certainly a tragedy wasn't it? But I certainly didn't set you up. I payed you recompense in full, didn't I?"_

"You'll pay us in full once we beat you to a pulp—-

"**Wait."**

"But, boss!"

"**I said 'wait'. I want to hear what he has to say. You came here for a reason. Speak."**

"_Ah, you are quite the clever businessman, leader of the Black Gloves, aren't you? Well, I might as well get to the point then. What if I propose to you a chance of revenge against the Big Hero Six with a handsome payment of money on the side?"_

"Keep going."

"_I hear that there is a Winter Festival coming to town, and I hear that the __**Big Hero Six **__and __**one of the men who stabbed out your friend's eye**_ _will be there along with others of your kind. And by 'others of your kind', I mean those who also hold a vendetta against the Six — the Purple Scarves and the Vendettes in particular."_

"**..." **

"_Say, with all of you there, wouldn't it be too easy to take down all of them?"_

"**What's in it for you, Tako?"**

"_Ah, there's the catch! Well, to be perfectly honest, there's a little Alice I have my eye on; and it would be lovely if you all could retrieve him for me."_

* * *

The headaches had been getting worse. He hid the pain that they gave him, of course; and he had taken to drinking ibuprofen every morning and every night. It probably wasn't the wisest thing to do, but he thought that it was the least he could do for worrying — no, hurting — the people closest to him for nine long months. Nine empty months. No, those months had not been empty. Surely, there had been something _there_ — something important, something that he had forgotten.

_Ah, well, it'll come back eventually._

— He thought like this because it was his personal belief that an optimistic mindset was a healthy one.

Until then, he was perfectly content with 'bending the truth'. No, not lying. He was no liar.

"Tadashi?"

His aunt was looking at him curiously. He must have been making a strange face while he was thinking.

"Hm?"

"French vanilla or cappuccino?"

His aunt smiled at him and held up two styrofoam cups of coffee. They were both capped off with black lids.

"You know me. Cappuccino is my weakness." He replied with a smile — because french vanilla had always been his aunt's weakness.

She handed him the one of the cups, which he had difficulty taking because his hands were full with a packet of papers, and then kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks so, so, so much for this, honey!"

"Not a problem, Aunt Cass." Tadashi waved her off. "I have to make copies of these study packets for school anyways."

"Oh!" Aunt Cass grinned excitedly, reaching over and pinching his cheek again. "Starting school again in two weeks! I'm so excited for you!"

He was excited too, albeit a bit nervous. He told her thus, as he headed towards the door leading out of the cafe.

"Oh, you'll do fine!" She reassured him; she paused and then brought up a different topic: "You remember everything you need to get, right? You wrote it down and everything? Coffee beans — the good kind, you know —, styrofoam cups, ten pounds of dough — the good kind, you know —, three light bulbs, and —"

"— and gummy bears for Hiro." Tadashi nodded matter-of-factly, reaching for the doorknob with difficulty. "There's no way I could forget that. He's been dramatically complaining about the lack of gummy bears in this house for the past three days. It's tragic."

"That boy and his sweet tooth." Aunt Cass sighed with a roll of her eyes.

She walked over to where he stood paused in front of the doorway and tightened the knitted red scarf that was wrapped around his neck — he nearly choked at the tightness — and pulled down his black snowcap over his ears.

"A-Aunt Cass!"

"It's colder than cold at there," Aunt Cass answered him testily, hands on hips, "and if you catch a cold, you're grounded… _Again_!"

"Alright, alright, Aunt Cass." Tadashi sighed with a defeated smile

He waved her off, turned the knob, and stepped out into the winter morning air. The whiteness of the open sky nearly blinded him; and he turned his eyes downwards towards the sidewalk — but it was blindingly white down there too.

He squinted; he sighed.

His sigh fogged up the frigid air and sent ghostly tendrils spiraling upwards towards the stark skyscrapers, before its whisps became lost in the mass of people walking to and fro down the walkway. The streets were crowded too, as were the railway trams that zipped down the roads.

People. A lot of people. A lot of people was good. A lot of people meant that the world was slowly turning forward.

Taking a sip of his cappuccino, Tadashi decided that it was going to be a good day.

* * *

In another district of the city (in a dark alleyway to be exact), a young man dressed in navy brushed past two delinquents who wore purple scarves around their necks:

"Well, would you look at this kid? Walking straight past the two of us like he doesn't even know who we are. Hold it right there!... Hey, I said hold it!"

The navy man's path was blocked off by two large bodies.

《...Who are you?》

"... Huh?"

《If you're going to stop me in the middle of the street, it would be polite of you to introduce yourself. Don't you agree?》

"Look at this kid, all high and mighty—"

《Please don't assume things about me."

"A smart aleck this one is, isn't he? I bet you won't be talking smart once we tell you that we're part of the Purple Scarves!"

《Oh, so you're plain old street thugs.》

One of the purple men clicked his tongue.

"What's with all this disrespect all of a sudden? First some octopus mask guy comes to talk down to us and now—-"

《What did you just say?》

"What...?"

《Repeat what you just said about the man with the octopus mask.》

"And why should I?!"

One of the purple men lunged at the navy man. The latter slid backwards, but was not fast enough to escape the other man's intruding fingertips which brushed against his navy chest. They both froze at the contact. And then —-

"What...? He's... He's a _girl_!"

The navy man — no, the navy _woman_ grabbed the intruding fingertips with her gloved hand and twisted them. There was a sickening crack followed by a hysterical scream. Another scream followed as the navy woman kneed the other man in the groin.

The purple men were dragged by the navy woman into the shadows of the alleyway. Several minutes later, the woman emerged alone. She looked both directions, as if crossing a street, and then threw a glance back at the two groaning men who lay strewn out behind her.

《Ah. How rude of me. I am Private Investigator Maeko Rice. It was a pleasure to meet you... See you at the festival then.》

* * *

They were falling slowly slowly, gently gently. They were such fragile things. If she reached out to touch them, they would dissolve in her dark palms. Such weak, fragile things _deserved_ to be eaten out of existence by the heat of the real world.

_That's probably what that little snake is thinking, _Usagi thought to himself as he observed the young girl sitting by the windowpane.

The girl had drawn a frowning face with her index finger on the fogged up glass. The light-haired young man who sat beside her was drawing a rather crude replication of a bodily part next to the face. He had drawn a smiling sheep-like animal earlier, but their breaths had fogged up the window so much that it was barely recognizable. Their finger marks had left nearly permanent smudges on the glass. Needless to say, Ookami would not be pleased.

"Come on, Taka," Usagi said, amused, "I took you for someone more mature than that."

"Maturity has nothing to do with this piece of art Hebi and I have created." Taka replied as he tapped on the pane. "This right here captures the struggle of a ninja man who faces anon hate 'cause a rabid animal spirit thing has been sealed in side of him but he tries to become the top dawg of his ninja people anyways. It's a metaphor so deep that you need a drill n' shovel to get to it. No, not even a drill n' shovel would work. You'd need like — I dunno — a laser thing, like a light-saber but in shovel form, to reach the depths. That's the kind of metaphor it is. "

"Of course." Usagi nodded deeply, sarcastically; he leaned back into the couch. "I don't why I didn't see it before."

"It's cool." Taka nodded.

"Art?" Came a scoff from the threshold. "You poor neophytes don't even understand the true meaning of it!"

Usagi didn't even need to turn his head to know that Sasori had entered the premises.

"What?" Hebi grumbled at the intruding man. "And that's coming from the loser who makes macaroni art?"

"Child, it's called _modern_ art." Sasori clipped as he strode across the floorboards and kneeled down beside the two; he then reached out to the glass with his index finger and mumbled to himself as he dragged it along the transparent surface: "The world was filled with art that was unrecognized by the naked eye. The hard boiled mad-scientist-detective-artist knew this well. But. He did not have the heart to give up on this world. His soul was ingrained in it! So that is why he picked up his brush—"

"What brush?" Hebi scowled.

"He picked up his _metaphorical_ brush." Sasori coughed as he dragged his finger this way and that. "And he began to — hey! Stop that!"

Taka had grabbed the man's hand while he had been in the middle of his monologue and was now forcing him to draw a rather crude image on the glass. Sasori attempted to pull his hand away; and Taka attempted to push his hand forward. Their fingers zigzagged across the window and blotched out all the other images that had been drawn onto it.

"You fiend!"

"You nerd."

Usagi gazed at their bickering with amusement. Hebi on the other hand—

"Ugh! What is with all of you?!"

— She screeched such a thing at the top of her lungs as she shot up to a stand. Her fists were clenched, and her eyes were ablaze with disgust and anger. She was shaking.

"How can you all act like nothing is wrong?! How can you just sit there and do nothing?!"

The three men stared at her wordlessly.

"Some guy just offed Kenji Brian — 'some guy' who wasn't _us_!"

Taka released Sasori from his grip and gazed at the girl with an unreadable expression.

"Kitsune'd be all over this mess if he were here!" Hebi pressed, gesturing outwardly at nothing. "He'd track Tako down and kill him for killing Hitsuji!"

No one spoke.

"But here we are sitting and doing nothing!" She hissed. "And you know what? I've had enough of it!"

No one moved.

"I'm going to go out there and do something about it!"

And with that declaration ringing in the air, Hebi stormed out of the room. The three men stared after her and listened to her retreating footsteps. A loud boom — a door being pulled open and then slammed forcefully shut — echoed throughout the room followed by a cold gust of winter air.

Usagi sighed and rose from the sofa.

"I'll go get her."

* * *

The paper form was slid onto the secretary's desk.

The secretary looked away from her monitor and blinked away the phantasmal blue blotches that dotted her vision. She glanced down at the form; her vision once again became filled with blue — swirling blue letters that were inked onto the page. The bold-face phrase printed above these letters read as follows:

**Temporary Prisoner Leave **

"Well," the secretary grinned as she pulled the paper towards her and gave it a quick look over, "looks like you're finally at the final step."

The woman who stood in front of the desk nodded with a smile in response.

"Well, if this all works out, I hope you and your father enjoy the festival, Miss Callaghan."

* * *

Usagi wasn't very fond of cold weather, nor was he fond of being _outside_ in cold weather. Yet, here he was walking in the middle of everything he despised. His self-torture was for a good reason, however. He needed to keep an eye on his little snake.

The girl was walking several feet away from him along the sidewalk. She rudely brushed past pedistrians who were either walking slower that her or in the opposite direction. Every now and then she would throw a furtive glance over her shoulder and glare at him.

"And where exactly are you going?" Usagi spoke finally.

"To that baby-faced brat's house." She shouted back.

"Do you mean Hiro?" Usagi asked with a raised eyebrow as he quickened his pace and caught up to her from behind.

"No. I mean 'the baby-faced brat'."

Usagi sighed in exasperation, grabbed Hebi by the arm, spun her around, and gripped her by the shoulders tightly. The young girl scowled at his actions and smacked his hands away.

People were beginning to stare.

"Stop following me!" She hissed, retaliating their gazes with a glare.

"Now, now. You know that I can't do that." He replied in an amused tone. "Ookami would have my head if I let you go off and do something stupid."

"But I'm not doing something stupid." Hebi shot back testily; she crossed her arms. "What's stupid is that you're holding me back!"

"And it's smart of you to go barging into one of the houses of the Big Hero Six." Usagi raised an eyebrow. His tone was still amused.

"Yes!" Hebi nodded fiercely. "Duh! They're probably hiding my dear Kitsune away!" She huffed, hands on hips. "It's so cliche of them, don't you think?"

"Little snake," Usagi sighed, the amused twinkle in his eyes dissipating and becoming replaced with something more subdued, "don't you think there's a reason why Kitsune hasn't retu—

"Don't you say it!" Hebi hissed, biting her lip. "There's no way!"

And before Usagi could stop her, Hebi turned and broke off into a sprint. She, ignoring Usagi's shouts from behind her, tore through the crowd of pedestrians at an improbable speed. Her rapidly beating heart fueled her pace; and the world past her by in a blur.

She wouldn't believe it.

She **couldn't** believe it.

Kitsune couldn't possible be dead—

—-Bam!

Her tiny body collided with a large body; and she fell backwards onto the cement ground. A plethora of papers fluttered down like snowflakes around her; and the sweet scent of coffee fogged up the air. Sitting in front of her and covered in sheets of paper and spilt coffee was her assailant.

"Oh my god! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!"

Her assailant scrambled onto to his knees and then scrambled over to her side. He reached over and gently touched her shoulder as if both to console her and to steady her.

"Are you okay?"

What a stupid question.

"No, I'm not okay!" She scowled intensely, shaking off the man's touch. "And you **should** be sorry! Watch where you're goin—"

Her voice died in her throat as she registered her assailant's face — his handsome face that was painted with pinkish scars, his concerned expression, his soft demeanor.

Everything about him was a contradiction from what she knew (Something was clearly wrong here. That concerned softness was unfamiliar to her.), but—

— she found her eyes watering. Her lips parted into a quivering grin of disbelief.

"I knew it!" She shouted in a hoarse, cracked whisper. "I knew it!"

It was then that Usagi broke through the encircling crowd that surrounded Hebi and her so-called assailant. And when his eyes fell on his assailant's form, he froze altogether.

"... Kitsune?"

The man did not react to the call. His eyes did not leave the girl's expression at all. They searched her euphoric expression with curiosity, hesitance, and concern.

The man bent down close to her again and slid his arms under her arm and behind her back. The warmth that leaked from his touch bled into her at their contact; and although the warmth was unfamiliar to her, she found her eyes burning like someone had singed them.

_Stop crying, stupid. You're embarrassing yourself!_

Her eyes stopped burning, but her heart continued to hammer madly.

"Did you sprain your ankle? Can you stand on your own?"

—He asked such strange things as he helped her to her feet.

Of course she hadn't; and of course she could! She was built tougher than that — or so she liked to tell herself. But she was enjoying this contact, this warmth. Wouldn't he pull away if she said that she could manage herself? She didn't want that! But she had her pride too.

"Of course, I'm fine!" She huffed at him, before she broke out into a grin and gazed with adoration at his face. "I'm finer than fine now since you're here!"

She prepared herself for a biting remark, a quick and jerky shove, a frigid glare; but what she received was —

"Oh…" He blinked, averting his eyes and then returning them to her face with a _smile_ of all things. "You're welcome… I guess?"

It was a bright smile, a polite smile — one that a person would give to a new acquaintance —, but it still blinded her and caused her heart to skip a beat. This was because she had never seen such an expression on her beloved's face before. It was too _gentle_.

Something was terribly wrong.

He unlooped his arm from her back and took a step backwards facing her. He opened his mouth to speak once more, but she intercepted his speech with a cry:

"My dear, where have you been?!"

She quickly closed the space inbetween them and wrapped her sinewy arms around his waist. Strangely enough, his reaction to the forceful embrace was not tense, not reluctant; rather, it was startled. She blinked up at him and searched his face adoringly.

"I've missed you so, so, so much! And your hotness too, of course!"

Harsh verdigris met soft obsidian.

"I…" 'Kitsune' blinked, lowering his raised hands and touching her shoulder lightly; he gently pried her away from him, bent his head down, and searched _her_ face. "I'm sorry, but… do I know you?"

Hebi didn't quite understand the question. But maybe that was because it wasn't a question; it was a joke. No, that didn't make any sense either. Perhaps it was a rhetorical question. Yes, that made practical sense, but—

— why was his gaze so soft, so _warm_?

No.

Hebi's eyes widened.

What…?

"_Kitsune_." She pressed desperately, hopefully; she laughed and shook her head, when he stared at her in confusion in turn: "Come on, this isn't like you! "

"I'm sorry." He _laughed_ lightly in response, as he pulled back — as if he thought all of his problems had been resolved by her unrelated answer. "I think you've gotten me confused with someone else."

Hebi froze and stared. The clear chime that had just escaped the man's mouth had caught her off guard. Had she just heard a _laugh_ escape from her Kitsune's mouth?

No. No. No—

"Haha," came a laugh from behind, "sorry about this."

Usagi, who had been watching the entire situation in stupor from where he had been imbedded in the crowd, stepped forward and drew Hebi under his arm.

"She's always like this." He continued and explained to the man who wore Kitsune's face.

"Usagi!" Hebi hissed, digging her nails into the man's arms. "Let go of me! Something's wrong with Kits—-"

Usagi clamped a hand over the girl's mouth.

"—mmmf!"

"She's always like this." Usagi repeated and laughed just as easily as he had.

Not-Kitsune — or so Usagi deemed him as realization began to dawn on him (_So that's why he hasn't come b_a_ck_, he thought.) — blinked at his actions in surprise, before some sort of realization began to dawn on him.

"Oh!" Not-Kitsune pipped with widened eyes. "Are you her father?"

Hebi paled at the question, while Usagi stifled a laugh.

"I'm very sorry for bumping into her." Not-Kitsune apologized, dipping into a low bow, a low bow that caused Usagi and Hebi to blanch in unison.

"Uh," Usagi waved him off with his free hand, "it's fine. Really." He side glanced at Hebi. "If anything, she should be apologizing to you for making you drop your papers and spill your coffee."

"No, no!" Not-Kitsune shook his head and glanced at Hebi who stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers. "It's my fault—"

With one hand still clasped over Hebi's mouth, Usagi bent down and picked up the sheets of paper that were strewn at his feet. Giving them a quick look over, he handed them back to not-Kitsune.

"Looks like complicated stuff you've got here," Usagi commented.

"Oh, thank you." Not-Kitsune bowed his head slightly again and took the papers back in hand, before he offered an explanation: "They're study guides for my classes at SFIT."

"SFIT?" Usagi blinked, before he winced slightly as Hebi bit down hard on his fingers. "I-Isn't that that fancy elite university for geniuses?"

"I guess you could say that." Not-Kitsune laughed again (The sound caused Hebi to flinch again.), bending down to pick up his fallen styrofoam cup of coffee and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. "You're quite the flatterer, you know?"

"_You_ go to SFIT?" Usagi pressed, raising a slender eyebrow in disbelief and amusement.

"Well, yes and no." Not-Kitsune explained, not noticing the other man's expression. "I used to go there, but something… came up… and I was removed from my class's roster. But, I'm returning in two weeks so," he paused, bending down to pick up his other fallen papers, and raised the papers in the air, "study guides."

Usagi stared, stared at the man's pleasant expression, stared at the man's honest demeanor. The man noticed his staring — noticed the girl's staring — and frowned:

"I-Is something wrong?"

Hebi nodded fiercely, while Usagi shook his head slowly.

"It's nothing." Usagi flashed a small and melancholy smile. "It's just that you look a lot like a close friend of mine…"

"Oh!" Not-Kitsune grinned a mischievous grin (_Stop smiling! That's not like you!_ Hebi thought bitterly, angrily.). "I see! He must be quite the looker then, am I right?"

"_Was_ handsome." Usagi corrected him; he kept his wistful smile constant. "It looks like he's gone now though." He felt Hebi tense in his grip.

"Gone?" Not-Kitsune — hadn't Kitsune called him Tadashi? — frowned in confusion, before his eyes widened in realization; he became flustered. "Oh! Oh my god… I… I'm so sorry."

He bowed deeply once more; and in the middle of his deep bow, his eyes met with Hebi's eyes, and they softened sympathetically. The girl's eyes widened in turn.

"Woah!" Usagi laughed and reached out and stopped the man mid-bow. "Now, now. You've bowed to me three times now and you've apologized even more than that. Aren't you going overboard?"

Not-Kitsune — Tadashi — straightened himself and rubbed the back of his neck.

"This is the part where I struggle between saying sorry and not saying sorry, isn't it?" He questioned lightly with a half-smile.

"I don't know." Usagi raised an eyebrow testily. "Is it?"

There was a pause of silence. And in that pause, Usagi and Hebi tuned their ears. They tuned their ears in hopes of hearing a scoff, a click of an annoyed tongue, brooding silence even. But then—

"I'm sorry for dredging up a bad memory." Not-Kitsune apologized quietly, adjusting his scarf and averting his eyes. "Er… I'll just go now." He bowed again and turned to leave.

Usagi gazed motionlessly at the man's back. Part of him wanted to reach for that back, to stop that man — to stop Kitsune — in his tracks. The other part of him was aware that the man before him was not Kitsune and that—

— things were better that way.

But Hebi did not share his thoughts.

Letting out a loud growl, the girl ripped away his hand from her mouth and tore away from his iron grip. She sprinted forward, ignoring Usagi's shouts from behind her, and made a grab for not-Kitsune's arm. Her thin fingers brushed past the bodily part, however, and became entangled in his hand instead. Not-Kitsune turned at the sudden contact and blinked down at her in surprise.

"Kitsune!" She whispered.

His eyes widened slightly.

"Kitsune." She repeated, more fiercely than before. "Don't go."

But before the man could react to the beg, Usagi darted forward and pulled the girl away from him. He clamped his hand over her mouth once more. The action earned him a concerned, raised eyebrow.

"Sorry about that!" Usagi grinned at the startled and concerned man. "She's just... She's just... Having a hard time."

"Oh..." Not-Kitsune frowned, before he offered his half smile again. "It's fine..."

Harsh, pleading verdigris met with soft, sympathetic obsidian once more.

_Don't go. _

Usagi raised an eyebrow when he realized that Not-Kitsune had yet to turn to leave. Instead, the man stood in place and gazed at Hebi with an unreadable expression. And then, he smiled. Again.

_Unnatural_, Hebi thought. _Not him. _

_Weird_, Usagi thought. _But natural. _

"Hey," Not-Kitsune spoke in a soft voice as dipped his head low so that he was at eye-level with Hebi (The girl flinched at his gaze.), "how about I make up for bumping into you by taking you and your dad out to eat?" He paused, glancing inquiringly upwards at Usagi. "If that's okay with him, of course."

"Well..." Usagi grinned slyly, yet uncertainly.

"Yes!" Hebi shouted, ripping his hand away from her mouth once more; and before she could stop herself, she blurted out: "Like a date, my dear!"

And thus there was a pause of silence.

"A date?" Not-Kitsune raised an eyebrow.

"I think what she meant was 'it's fate'!" Usagi explained, clamping her mouth again.

Not-Kitsune stared at them uncertainly.

"Give me a second." Usagi grinned again as he turned away from the man and ducked his head low so that his lips were at the girl's ear. "Listen Hebi." He whispered quietly under breath. "Don't bring up anything about Kitsune or CASCO in front of him, do you hear me? He's not himself right now."

"What?!" Hebi scowled quietly in outrage. "Why?! We need to get Kitsune back! We need to tell him who he is! The big loser six have obviously been keeping him in the dark and that isn't cool!"

"Little snake." Usagi pressed, his eyes darkening. "If you care about Kitsune you need to keep quiet, do you understand? I won't let you go with him otherwise."

"You do realize that you're not my actual dad, right?" Hebi hissed.

"Now, now, my precious daughter." Usagi cooed, before he added in a sharp whisper: "At least wait until your 'date' is over, alright? Wait and see. If you do that, I promise I won't butt in."

Hebi glared at him grudgingly, before she nodded at him stiffly.

Thus, the two turned towards Not-Kitsune in unison. The man was absent-mindedly fingering the fringes of his scarf, while scanning the papers held in hand. Feeling their gazes prick his skin, he glanced up at them:

"So, what's the verdict?"

"I hope you have somewhere good in mind, Mister…?" Usagi smiled thinly.

"Hamada. Tadashi Hamada."

* * *

[From: Gogo ➤ To: Hero, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Fredzilla

| word on the street is that there's something going on at the Winter Festival next week. don't know what it is. tako is involved though. hired some thugs…. also, some PI is involved.|

| oh. broke the promise. whoops.| ]

* * *

**Sushi Delights: Closed for Renovations**

Tadashi, Usagi, and Hebi stared up at the sign that was nailed to the door of the ornately decorated building with mixed expressions.

"I'm really sorry, guys…. I had no idea that it was closed for renovations."

"Stop saying 'sorry'!" Hebi mumbled from beside him. "It doesn't suit you…"

"You should say sorry if you've caused trouble for others, you know." Tadashi blinked down at her. "It's the polite thing to do, Debby."

"I-It's Hebi!" The girl shouted with a miffed expression

"Oh, my bad." He apologized yet again with another half-smile. "Don't know why I keep botching it, since it's such a nice name."

_Stop using his voice to say things like that!_

Despite thinking such thoughts, Hebi found that her face was red with embarrassment.

"I'd be lying if I said that you weren't a smooth talker." Hebi commented with a flusteredly coy smile; she felt awkward. "'Cause you are."

"Oh, thanks! I try."

_Stop acting like that! Act mad or indifferent! Stop thanking me!_

"Hey," Tadashi drew slowly as he studied the girl, "'I'd be lying if...' — is that you're catchphrase?" He paused, chuckling slightly: "You've said it a couple of times now."

Hebi stared up at him with eyes as wide as saucers. _No_, she wanted to say, _it's your catchphrase, Kitsune! It's yours! You say it all the time! I like it when you say it! That's why I copied you!_

"Here," Tadashi frowned, glancing around the area, "I think there's a food stand nearby. I could at least get you something there, since I dragged you guys all the way out here."

Before anyone could stop him, the man turned and ran off in the opposite direction. Usagi and Hebi stared after him in slight stupor.

"I don't like it." Hebi grumbled. "He's using Kitsune's body and making him act weird."

"Little snake," Usagi smiled with a melancholy expression, "I think you've got that accusation the wrong way around."

Tadashi returned several seconds later with three styrofoam cups in tow. They teetered dangerously in his arms; and with that added to the bundle of papers that were tucked under his arms, he gave off a secretary-ish aura.

"It's hot cocoa." Tadashi explained, handing one of the cups to Hebi. "The best hot cocoa there is in the city!"

Hebi took the cup in her hands grudgingly and felt warmth seep back into her fingertips.

"Here." Tadashi held out another cup to Usagi. He frowned slightly when the man didn't move to take it.

"Ah, you see," Usagi explained, waving the man off, "I'm allergic to—

"—to cocoa." Tadashi nodded with a blink, before he smiled and held the cup higher. "I know. This is pumpkin spice — the best pumpkin spice there is in the city."

Usagi stared at the man as did Hebi; and the man quirked an eyebrow at them, in turn.

Had Tadashi not realized that he had just pulled out something from Kitsune's memory? The man's perturbed expression answered the question.

"Ah," Usagi flashed a grin and took the cup in hand, "you know me well!"

Tadashi simply smiled again and took a sip of his own cup. Hebi watched him carefully; and feeling her gaze, Tadashi glanced at her and tapped his fingers along the body of his cup thoughtfully.

"So," he drew as he took another sip from the styrofoam cup, "you and your dad—

"He's not my dad!" Hebi hissed.

"Huh?" Tadashi frowned in turn. "Wait…" He glanced curiously at Usagi who simply shrugged in turn.

"Yeah," Usagi grinned easily, "she's right. You kind of just assumed that I was her dad."

"Oh…" Tadashi blinked, before he buried his head in his free hand. "Well that's embarassing… I'm sorry."

"No, no, it's fine." Usagi waved him off, before he paused and gazed at Tadashi inquiringly: "But, I have to ask — why did you think I was her father in the first place?"

Tadashi averted his gaze and tapped his fingers along the edge of his cup. Usagi observed him curiously.

"Well," the Hamada finally spoke, returning his gaze to Usagi's face, "I guess that's because you kind of… remind me of my dad… so I thought…" He trailed off.

"Your dad?" Usagi pressed.

"Yeah…" Tadashi lowered his eyes. "You're a lot like him."

"I get the feeling that…" Usagi's smile faltered. "That your dad's…"

"My mom and my dad are gone." Tadashi nodded, taking another sip of cocoa. "Car accident."

There was a pause of awkward silence. Hebi squirmed in it.

"Sorry…" She tried the foreign word in her mouth as she glanced up at Tadashi. "Sorry that Usagi is a loser who dredges up touchy, feely stuff."

"Now that wasn't very nice…" Usagi raised an eyebrow, before he returned his attention to Tadashi. "I _am_ sorry though."

"No, it's fine." Tadashi waved him off. He paused, walking over to the closed restaurant and leaning his back against its brick walling. "It happened ten years ago, so…" He frowned, studying his cup. "I'd be lying if I said 'It happened ten years ago, so I really don't remember it'. I still remember it like it was yesterday." He took another sip of the cocoa. "It happened right in the middle of an intersection. I was standing in a parking lot next to the intersection with Hiro — he's my baby brother —, and we were both waiting for our parents to come pick us up from… Well, I forgot what to be honest. Anyways, some guy in an Audi totalled my parents car in the intersection. I don't know if he was in a hurry, if he was drunk; I don't know what possibly could have…"

Something dark flickered in his eyes; and it caused Usagi to frown.

"... When it happened… Everyone around the intersection just stopped and stared. I ran to them and begged them to call the police, to help my parents somehow… but they just kept on staring. Later, I learned that what happened was something called 'bystander syndrome'. 'Remove yourself from the situation and act like none of it concerns you so you want suffer from mental trauma'. That's basically what it was."

The same darkness flickered in his eyes again; and his gaze grew distant.

"But I don't know why I was so surprised then. Humans are humans, aren't they? You shouldn't expect too much of them."

There was another pause of silence in which Usagi observed Tadashi carefully. The man's eyes were oddly harsh and jaded. His lips were set into a firm line. Familiar.

_Tadashi or my Kitsune? _Hebi thought, her heart hammering wildly in her chest.

"Kit..." She began, before she flinched at the man's distant and cold gaze and allowed the word to die in her mouth. "Tadashi?"

The man started at the name and blinked down at her in confusion.

"S-Sorry." He apologized, shaking his head and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what that was…" He took another long sip of his cocoa, before he continued: "Anyways, for a while, I was really angry. I don't know what or who I was angry at, but I was angry. I think I was angry at myself for being so hopeless in that situation. And I decided that I would never let anyone feel as I felt — that I would never be a bystander…" He trailed off again.

Hebi and Usagi stared at him. He felt their stares prickle his skin and glanced at them curiously. He then realized that he had shared something rather personal with them; and his cheeks became flushed.

"Oh, sorry, I was rambling." He apologized with another laugh. "I guess I'm more comfortable with you than I thought — seeing how I just told you my life story." He gazed at Usagi with a half-smile. "It's probably because you remind me of my dad so much, to be honest."

Usagi's amused expression that he had worn all throughout the day became an unreadable one.

"Well," Usagi replied, "I'm flattered… And for all ironic purposes, you remind me of my son."

"You have a son?" Hebi and Tadashi questioned in unison.

"Yeah, quite the rebellious one." Usagi mused, before he thumbed Hebi. "That's why I know how to handle _her_ so well."

"Whatever." Hebi rolled her eyes; she studied Tadashi with crossed arms. "Anyways, what happened to the guy who murdered your parents?"

Tadashi frowned at the word 'murdered'.

"Did you get him back?" Hebi pressed.

"No…" Tadashi answered her slowly. "I mean, he was arrested, but…"

"What?!" Hebi seethed. "That's not enough punishment for him! He killed your parents! You should've… You should've killed him too! To settle things! To make sure he doesn't hurt anyone like that ever again!"

"Hebi!" Usagi said warningly.

"Hey, hey," Tadashi frowned, crouching down low so that he was at eye-level with her, "you shouldn't talk about killing people so easily."

If circumstances had been different, Usagi would have laughed at the irony of his statement.

"Well," Hebi huffed, "he killed your parents, so it's just the same!"

"That's not..." Tadashi shook his head; he raised his free and placed it on her shoulder. "It was… an… accident."

"So?!" Hebi scowled. "The world is crappy already as it is. Might as well clean out some of the things that are making it crappy, right?"

"Look, Hebi," Tadashi sighed as he gazed at her with an intense gaze, "I admit that some people _are_ crappy, but they're _people_. They have their own lives too, and they have people who care about them. If you were to go out and… kill or hurt a person for revenge… you wouldn't be any different from that person. And…. a life is a very important thing, you know? So there's that too."

Hebi stared at Not-Kitsune in disbelief. The man who had sliced off a person's head without an afterthought had just… _lectured_ her about the importance of life?

"And even though this world might seem crappy and might seem filled with crappy people," he continued, "there's always a bunch of good people and things to balance it out…. I…." He paused, frowning thoughtfully, before he continued: "What I'm trying to say is... the world isn't as bad as you think."

When Hebi searched his dark eyes in stupor, she found only herself reflected in them. She was at the center of his attention. His eyes were filled with concern for her. And as she realized this, she felt something painful throb in her chest.

_Imposter._

"Whatever." She scowled, crossing her arms and looking away.

"Y'know," Usagi coughed loudly, "another reason why you remind me of my son so much is that you've got this whole 'baseball player' air around you like he did. Ever play baseball before?"

Tadashi's eyes immediately sparkled with enthusiasm; and he turned on his heels and faced Usagi with a grin that went from ear to ear. His excited expression was so infectious that Usagi found himself smiling too. At the same time, however, something in his chest throbbed painfully; and he thought, _This was what he was like before everything…?_

"I used to play baseball religiously!" Tadashi gushed. "All the way up until high school! The San Fransokyo Ghouls are my favorite team!"

"Ah, you have taste, my friend." Usagi clapped his hands together.

"Baseball?" Hebi scoffed. "And what the heck is that?"

Tadashi stared at her incredulously.

"W-What?" She stuttered, feeling her face burn.

"Unbelievable." He murmured. "You were serious about what you just said now?" He shook his head and grabbed her hand. "If that's true, I need to take you out to the park and play some ball right now!"

Seeing Hebi's blanching expression, Usagi found himself grinning: "Sure, why not!"

* * *

[ **BREAKING NEWS:** Head of Krei Tech to Attend San Franksokyo's Winter Festival ]

* * *

Hiro was in the middle of brushing his teeth when he received Gogo's text.

When he had awoken in Tadashi's empty bed several minutes earlier, he nearly had a heart attack. The cold emptiness of the mattresses had seemed unnatural and terrifying to him. And for a moment, he had wondered if the past two weeks had been just a dream. Of course, rational thought had filled in the confusion in his mind several seconds later; and he had recalled his older brother telling him the previous night that he would go shopping the next morning — this morning. So, with a loud yawn and an equally loud grumble, he had waddled into the bathroom — cellphone in tow to check the news and time — to start his morning.

Needless to say, he was not pleased when he read the contents of the text message. He set his toothbrush down and spat into the sink with a grimace.

Tako.

CASCO.

What were they planning? What did they want with his brother?

Gritting his teeth, Hiro ruffled his hair and let out a sigh. He needed to get this resolved quickly, before they made their move.

He paused, thinking.

Or perhaps… he could… use their move to his advantage…? Would that work? That would be the easiest route without any complications, wouldn't it?

Yes. It was.

All he needed to do was pull the strings correctly.

He turned off the faucet, exited the bathroom, and headed down into the cafe. It was quieter than usual which was strange because it was a Saturday and Saturdays always meant lots of business. But that obviously wasn't holding true for this particular Saturday — there were only six customers.

A family of four and a couple.

Hiro found his gaze lingering on the couple. They were a strange duo. Both were sharply-dressed men, and both had on serious expressions. One of the two was dressed from head to toe in navy. The other had on a long brown trenchcoat. A white labcoat appeared to be peaking out from beneath it.

"Well," the trenchcoated man drew as he rose from his seat and nodded at the navy man sitting across from him, "adieu, my friend. Thank you for the information."

"I hope it'll come in handy to you." The navy man nodded back at him.

Hiro watched the trenchcoated man collect his bearings and swiftly exit the store. He then shifted his attention to the navy man. Said man remained stationary. His dark eyes were glued to the glass cup in his hands, yet he kept throwing quick and furtive glances out of the window. Was he waiting for someone else?

Shrugging, Hiro hopped over to the cafe counter and peered over its edge. His aunt's bustling form met his eyes.

"Hey, Aunt Cass." He pipped.

"Oh, Hiro!" The woman turned and greeted him with a grin. "Good morning, sweety! Looks like you were totally knocked out cold last night, huh?"

Hiro became flustered at her question and quickly looked around the cafe to make sure that no one was looking.

"Yeah," he mumbled with a nod. He paused, becoming distracted. "Hey, did Tadashi say when he was going to be back?"

"Nope." She replied. "But I sent him out two hours ago, so he should be back soon." She tapped a couple of keys on her register, before she turned to him with wide eyes. "Oh, honey, could you do me a favor?"

"Huh?" Hiro blanched, flustered at her sudden change in demeanor.

"The doctor called a couple of minutes ago." She explained. "Tadashi's medications are in again at the hospital. Could you go grab them for me?"

"Uh," Hiro shrugged with a tentative grin, "sure."

"Here's his prescription." She continued, dipping low behind the counter and returning to a stand with a paper in her hand; she handed him the slip. "You know the drill."

"'Course." He mock saluted her as he headed towards the door.

"Wait!" She shouted suddenly as she pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Put on something warmer first, mister! If you get a cold, I am grounding you!"

"Alright, alright!" Hiro squeaked.

The adolescent unhooked a rather thick jacket from the coathanger next to the door and slid the article on. When he felt his aunt's burning gaze graze his skin, he laughed nervously and pulled out the hat and gloves that were stuffed inside the jacket's pocket and slid them on as well. His aunt nodded approvingly at him; and he sighed in relief.

With that, he followed the trenchcoated man's path out of the as soon as the wintry gusts wracked his tiny form, he observed two things.

The first thing he observed was strange.

They pricked at his skin. They sent chills down his spine. He felt them from every direction. Observing eyes that is. Hiro supposed that he was possibly being paranoid, but—

— he felt like he was being watched.

His second observation was that…

… it was colder than cold.

Silently thanking his aunt for shouting at him, he headed towards the hospital.

* * *

Despite the chilling weather, San Fransokyo Park was not devoid of life. People dotted its snow-covered grounds, as did evergreen trees that peeked out from behind the white every once in a while.

"Now, just watch the way I swing, alright, Hebi?"

The man who asked the question stood in the middle of the park with an aluminum bat hefted over his shoulder. The girl he addressed stood behind him with a packet of papers held tightly in her hands. Her expression was bitter and annoyed.

"You give it a shot after me, okay?"

"Whatever."

"I'm ready whenever you are, Usagi!"

The man's shout was directed at the other man who stood several feet in front of him. The addressed man nodded back at him:

"Sure. Keep a keen eye, Tadashi."

Usagi took in a deep breath and gazed at Tadashi steadily; the man smiled back at him. He rolled the baseball in his palm and felt the smooth leather braise his calluses. Then, he released his breath and threw the ball. It became a streak of hurtling white and came to resemble a pale arrow. Destination: Tadashi.

Three.

Two.

One.

A loud crack hit the air like a whip, as rubber snapped against steel. And in that second of sound, Hebi realized with a sinking heart that the way he swung the bat —

— was the same way he swung the sword.

The white baseball pierced the gray sky and hurtled into the distance where it was swallowed up by the overhanging clouds. It did all of this in less than a second. An impossible feat.

Hebi watched Tadashi's reaction carefully. He hefted the bat over his shoulder and squinted at the horizon. His expression was one of both surprise and awe.

"Huh... I guess I must've hit it harder than I thought!"

Tadashi was not an imposter.

He couldn't be.

Another realization.

Tadashi could not be the imposter, because he was the _original_.

And...

Hebi bit her lips and felt her body begin to tremble.

And not only that...

"Hey, are you okay?"

Tadashi was now crouched before her and was peering into her face. She knew before she even looked at him that there was going to be concern on his face.

Not only that...

"I-I'm fine!" She stuttered, lowering her gaze. "I'm just cold is all, okay?!"

Not only that...

A swirl of bright red fluttered at the edge of her vision. That swirl circled around her and coiled around her neck and up to her ears.

It was soft. Cotton. And — she breathed in deeply — it smelled like coffee.

A red scarf. His red scarf.

"There. That right there is the warmest scarf in the world."

Not only that, but he was...

"It soaks up melted snow real well too."

He was _kind_.

And...

She froze as she felt a warm hand rest on her head and ruffle her hair.

"So feel free to let it snow in there, alright? There's no shame in it."

And... she liked his _kindness_. No, she liked _him_. She liked him as much as she liked Kitsune. But…

She felt tears begin to prick at her eyes; and before she knew it, the scarf wrapped around her head became damp.

Usagi watched the unfolding scene with a small, melancholy smile. This smile faltered, however, when he saw a flash of black out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey." He said as he stepped forward. "Sorry about this, Tadashi, but Hebi and I really have to leave right now."

"Huh?" Tadashi turned his head in surprise; and he came to a stand and brushed himself off. "Oh, right. Sorry for keeping you."

"No, no." Usagi waved him off for the upteenth time that day. "It was fun, kid."

"Yeah." Tadashi nodded with a half-smile. "It really was." He glanced down at Hebi and ruffled her hair again. "Got to learn the thrill that is baseball today, didn't you, Hebi?"

The girl didn't answer. She leaned her head into his hand. Her expression was hidden by the shadows of the scarf.

"Ah, well," Tadashi rubbed the back of his head, "I actually have some grocery shopping to do, so I'll be heading out first." He paused, patting the girl on the head again. "We should do this again some time."

"Sure." Usagi nodded.

"I work part-time at my aunt's cafe shop." Tadashi continued. "It's called the Lucky Cat Cafe. It's on Luck Avenue. You should stop by sometime."

"Count on seeing us there." Usagi nodded again.

"Well, then." Tadashi nodded back as he turned on his heels and gave a quick wave. "See you soon hopefully."

Usagi mirrored the man's smile, nodded, and waved back. He glanced down at Hebi and frowned as she remained motionless. This frown melded into a blanch as he saw the girl break out into a sprint. She was at Tadashi's side in an instant and grabbed his arm; Tadashi started and glanced backwards at her in surprise.

_Does this girl never learn?_

"Wait." Hebi mumbled. "You… forgot your papers." She held the packet of papers out for him.

"Oh, Jesus!" He exclaimed, taking them from her graciously. "Thanks! You're a life-saver!"

"And…" She continued, tugging at her scarf. "You're scarf too."

Tadashi blinked at her in surprise as did Usagi. The former's surprised expression melded into a soft one; and he gently rested his hand on her head again:

"It's fine. You can keep it. It suits you better than it did me, anyways."

She didn't respond.

"Well, bye again, Hebi."

She watched as he gave her a small wave; and she watched his back as it grew smaller and smaller, until she had nothing left to watch.

"Why don't you head back first?"

Usagi was now standing beside her and asked the question in quiet tone. She didn't look up at him. Whether this was because she was embarrassed or in deep thought, he did not know. She simply gave him a small nod and headed in the opposite direction from where Tadashi had departed.

Usagi craned his neck and watched her go. Once she was gone from his sights, he allowed his expression to become grim. He tuned his ears and allowed the loud crunching of snow to fill them. The cacophonic crunching grew louder and louder, until it abruptly died away altogether a foot or so away from him.

"Tako." Usagi identified the man who had approached him with a side glance.

"Rabbit." The man smiled thinly back in turn. "What a surprise to see you here."

* * *

The hospital was unusually cold. If he had not glanced at the thermometer nailed to the wall in the lobby room, Hiro would have thought that it was colder in the hospital than it was outside. The thermometer read seventy-five, however; and Hiro was left to assume that he was imagining things.

Shrugging to himself, he walked up to the pharmaceutical counter and blinked at the woman who sat behind it.

"Er… Excuse me." He cleared his throat. "I'm here to pick up a prescription."

"Prescription please." The woman clipped, holding out her hand.

"Er, right." Hiro nodded, digging into his pocket, pulling out the slip of paper, and handing it to her. "Here."

The woman took it in hand and scanned it over. She pursed her lips, tapped a couple of keys on her computer that was situated before her, and walked into the room behind her. She returned later with a white paper bag in tow; and she handed it to him.

"Are you Tadashi Hamada's brother?" She asked suddenly.

"Uh, yes…" Hiro frowned suspiciously. "Why?"

"How is he...?" She questioned.

"He's fine. Tired sometimes and he gets headaches sometimes too, but he's fine." Hiro informed her. "Why?"

"Oh, that's good. It's just that I thought he wasn't ready to leave the hospital yet. I was thinking that it was strange that Doctor Long released him so early, but I guess he was right."

"Doctor Long?" He repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah." She replied, before she nodded her head at something behind him. "And would you look at that? He's right there."

Hiro turned and met with a wall of white. No, not a wall of white. He met with a very tall man wearing an impeccably white lab coat. Doctor coat. Whatever they were called. The coat was so white that it nearly blinded him and caused him to take several steps backwards.

"Ah, Hiro Hamada, is it?" The man — presumably Doctor Long (Hiro vaguely remembered seeing him in Tadashi's hospital room before.) smiled pleasantly down at him. The smile sent chills down his spine.

"Er, yes." Hiro nodded tentatively.

"How's your brother doing?" The man pressed.

"Good." Hiro quipped, sliding past the man. "He's doing good. A-plus good."

"Well, that's good to hear." Doctor Long nodded at him, before he paused and asked rather strangely: "And how are you, Hiro? Staying healthy I hope."

"Yup," Hiro nodded, inching towards the exit. "Eating an apple a day!" He glanced at the lobby door. "Well, I really have to go now… so… bye!" He swiftly stormed through the doors without even throwing another glance behind him.

…

When Hiro returned to the cafe, he found two rather strange things. One, his brother was not home yet. Two, the navy man sitting at table two was still there. Shrugging to himself at the latter thing and frowning at the former, he headed up to his room.

He opened the door to his room with a well-aimed kick. Light filtered in from the window — that was strangely ajar — and bathed the room in a warm light that ate away at the shadows. Glancing at the window curiously, he moved to clasp it shut. And while he did this, he felt a strange sense of deja vu pull at his stomach. The feeling made him pause and throw a furtive glance over his shoulder; and sure enough—

"Yo."

— Hebi stood behind him with a pointed smirk and crossed arms.

"Hebi!" Hiro hissed, turning on his heels. "What are you doing here?! Leave!"

"Geeze, chill." She rolled her eyes. "I just came here to talk about my dear…" She paused, eyebrows furrowing. "To talk about Tadashi."

Hiro's heart froze in his chest. He knew that this moment would come eventually, but he had never prepared himself for it because the very thought of such a moment happening drove a stake of fear in his heart.

"What about him?" Hiro pressed, eyes narrowed.

"I met him today on the street." She explained.

"You what?!" Hiro hissed, taking a step forward threateningly. "What did you do to him?!"

"Nothing, nothing!" She raised her hands and rolled her eyes again. "I didn't hurt him or tell him about CASCO or anything, if that's what you're worried about…." Her expression fell for a moment. "Tadashi seems too nice for me to do that."

Hiro gazed at her warily.

"Why are you here then?" He questioned lightly.

"I…" She began, before she faltered and averted her gaze. "I…" She scowled and jabbed a finger in his direction. "I'm forcing you to team up with me, alright, loser?!"

"What." Hiro deadpanned.

"Look," she huffed, "you want to protect your brother don't you?... Well, I want to protect him too!"

Her spoken phrase made Hiro freeze; and he observed her closely.

"… And you're smart and nerdy and stuff, so…" She continued, biting her lip. "So it'd be easier if we work together to find this Sora loser."

There was a pause of silence.

"Well," she huffed again, stomping her way towards the window, "if you want to be a loser and not work together that's fine—"

She was cut off as Hiro grabbed her by the arm. She turned her head in surprise and found herself staring into harsh obsidian irises. And for a moment, as she gazed into those irises, she thought she was staring into Kitsune's, not Hiro's eyes.

"Something is going down at the Winter Festival." He said steadily. "If you want to team up with me, we're going to have to do something about it _without_ dragging Tadashi into it. And we're going to have to do whatever it takes to take CASCO down."

* * *

When Tadashi returned to the cafe with grocery bags and two packets of paper in tow, he was surprised at how little customers there were in the cafe. Frowning at this, he walked over to the counter and placed down the packets of paper and the groceries. Aunt Cass was nowhere to be seen. Bathroom break, perhaps?

Shrugging, he turned to observe the customers — to see if any of them required his assistance. The trio of gossiping friends who sat in the center of the cafe seemed perfectly fine. The navy clad man who sat in the corner, however—

— Tadashi's heart stopped altogether when he found that the man was gazing at him intently.

Obsidian clashed with obsidian.

His lashes fluttered; his breath hitched; his eyes burned.

He didn't know why but the very sight of the man's cropped black hair, pale lids, and long lashes made his head buzz and his eyes sting. It made his eyes sting so much that they began to water; and they watered so much that they overflowed and poured over his eyelids and slid down his cheeks.

"What the…?" He mumbled, wiping the tears off of his cheeks. He raised his head to glance at the navy clad man again; and when he found that the navy man was now standing only inches away from him, he nearly let out a shout.

"Are you alright, sir?" The navy man questioned him in a concerned tone that clashed with his unconcerned expression.

"Y-Yeah," Tadashi stuttered, "my eyes are just spazzing out."

The navy man stared at him with an intense gaze. And Tadashi returned the gaze. His dark eyes traced the man's face, traced the man's delicate and strangely nostalgic features. Doing such a thing caused Tadashi's head to buzz again.

"Are you Tadashi Hamada?" The man asked suddenly.

"Yeah." Tadashi nodded with a half-smile, before he paused. "Do I know you?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Hamada." The man bowed deeply. "I am Maeko Rice."

Maeko Rice.

That name didn't sound right.

"Maya Rice" had a better ring to it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too, Maeko Rice." Tadashi returned the bow and brushed his strange thoughts aside. "Do you happen to be the son of the person who owns the flower shop down the street?"

"Daughter." The man corrected.

"Daughter?" Tadashi repeated with a raised eyebrow, before his eyes widened in realization. "Oh! I'm sorry. My bad."

'_You remind me a lot of my sister.'_

"It's fine." The woman stated. "I just wanted to drop by to say hello."

"Oh," Tadashi replied awkwardly, before he smiled brightly, "well, hello."

She nodded at him.

"Well, then," she drew, "bye."

She gave a quick bow and exited the shop without another word.

"... bye?"

…

When Tadashi entered his room several hours later, he found that his brother was clasping the window to the room shut. When Tadashi asked him why the window had been open in the first place, his brother became flustered and nervous.

_Suspicious._

* * *

Usagi panted as he ran down the alleyway. He squeezed his upper right arm with his left hand and then winced. Red seeped in between his fingertips.

"Such a fast white rabbit you are." Came a voice from behind him. "I still don't understand why you chose confrontation over fleeing."

The amusement in the spoken phrases caused Usagi to stop short in his tracks. He turned on his heels and glared at the man who emerged out from the shadows that draped the alley. A flash of silver glinted in the man's hand.

"Now, now, Octopus." Usagi winced with a stiff smile. "I wouldn't be a very good father if I ran away and let you hurt my kids now, would I?"

"'Father', you say?" Tako smiled lightly. "Now, that's surprising. I didn't take you for the type."

"I guess you don't read people as well as you think you do," Usagi laughed, before his gaze darkened, "because I am going to gut you for what you did Hitsuji. And for whatever you have planned for Tadashi and his brother — I'll _burn_ you alive. Even if I have to crawl out of my grave to do it, I won't let you lay a hand on them."

"Ouch." The other man sighed. "That's hurtful."

There was a pause of silence.

"... Octopus, why are you doing this…?"

"I'm actually kind of jealous." Tako admitted. "Human beings — their stories are so lovely. Each one is unique and colorful; some are twisted, some are not. And although some details may be the same, you can never read the same exact story twice. That is what makes them beautiful."

Usagi glowered at him. He eyed the gun the man was waving idly in the air.

"My story isn't as colorful as theirs." Tako sighed, before he laughed. "I don't even have a story at all. I'm a reader and a writer, not a book; an artist and a connoisseur, not a painting."

"And am I supposed to be feeling sorry for you?" Usagi scoffed as a smile tugged at his lips.

"Of course not, Rabbit. Nothing is better than being an observer." Tako laughed. "But I admit that it does pain me to see some of my favorite characters die." He raised his gun and pointed it squarely at Usagi's head. "Like you, for instance, Rabbit."

And for a second, despite being in the middle of a parlous situation, Usagi found his mind wandering. He found himself thinking about baseball. He found himself thinking about his son's first game, his son's first swing, and the pride he felt watching his son play. And then he found himself thinking of Tadashi. He found himself thinking about the way the man swung his bat, the way he swung his sword. And then his mind drifted towards the others. Hitsuji. Taka. Hebi. Ookami. Neko. Kitsune. And then... it drifted towards the others — those he had killed during the trials. And he thought, _My son wouldn't be very proud of me, would he? _

A loud boom rang throughout the alleyway.

* * *

It was bedtime in the Hamada household.

The two Hamada brothers were nestled together in the older brother's bed. The older brother was dozing off, while the younger one was twitching and squirming excitably. The latter's erratic movements stirred the former from his sleep.

"Alright, alright." The older Hamada yawned tiredly. "What is it, Otouto?"

There was a pause of silence. And the younger briefly considered not telling the older what was on his mind.

"Okay," the younger drew in a whisper, "answer me seriously, okay?"

"I'm always serious, Hiro. My last name is Serious."

"Nii-san!" The younger hissed, smacking the older on the arm.

"Ow!" The older flinched. "Okay, okay! I'm listening!"

There was another pause of silence. The younger carefully formulated the question he wanted to ask in mind.

"What if…" The younger began testily. "What if you could help a ton of people — save a ton of people — but you had to hurt one person to do it? What would you do?"

Yet another pause of silence. Had the older dozed off again?

"Isn't the right choice obvious?"

The strange tone in the older's voice caused the younger's heart to skip a beat. That was not his brother's tone of voice, the younger realized. It was too cruelly amused, too mocking to belong to his brother. It was a fox's tone of voice. And when the younger raised his eyes to the older's face, his suspicious were confirmed. Cold eyes. Cruel smirk.

"One life equals one life." The older continued. "And one life is insignificant compared to a thousand lives. It's simple math. Comparison."

The younger reached out and shook the older with eyes that we're filled with fear. The older blinked down at him blankly.

"Nii-san!"

The older flinched at the address, grunted, and held his head with a wince.

"'Dashi," the younger whispered, "a-are you okay?"

"Sorry." The older murmured, the soft and familiar tone of his voice returning. "What was the question?"

The younger tentatively repeated the question. It was difficult to do so because his heart was hammering so madly in his chest.

"Hm... Is this for a phllosophy course at school or something?" The older questioned lightly, ponderingly. "Anyways... If I were in a situation like that... I would save those people without hurting that one person. Even in the most helpless situation, there's always an option like that."

"Hm..."

For some reason the fox's advice rang more loudly in the younger's mind than did the advice of his older brother.

* * *

_Next Chapter: _Matsuri (祭り)

∟ "Festival"

Alternative Titles:

\- Kitsune-tsuki; Fox Possession — in which a fox demon posses a man.

"Tadashi!"

Red trickled down from the man's forehead. The woman held protectively beneath him stared at his face with widened eyes.

In a far away field of white roses, a red spider-lily bloomed.

\- Down the Rabbit Hole; Alice Captured — in which Alice is forcefully shoved down the rabbit hole.

The wet napkin was clamped over his face; and in his struggle, he inhaled the fumes that were imbedded within it. The world spun madly around him; the colorful festival lights faded from his vision; and he fell into blackness.

* * *

**A/N**: Oh man, guys. Sorry for the late-ish update. School has been terrible… Like…. really terrible. And... I think it's finally here. The dreaded bout of procrastination, demotivation, and writer's block all wrapped in a package with a bow known as stress. I may or may not be able to update next week because of this and because I'm going to a friend's b-day party/ sleepover thing over the weekend that week. I might be able to since I don't have school on Friday, but no guarantees. U n U.

Anyways, next chapter the pace picks up again! (Sorry that the recent chapters have been so bland. It's kind of like a building-up thing, but, erm… yeah. /bows.)

Oh! And BH6 WON AT THE OSCARS WOOHOOOOOOOO! I very much enjoyed NPH's comment at the beginning though. That sassafras...

Thanks to all those who read, followed, and favorited!

A big thanks goes out to—

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: Ah, sorry for the cliffhanger… but here's another cliffhanger for you! shotdead. Some serious stuff is gonna go down in the next chappie. Thank you for the compliments though, friend! I'm blushing v u v.

Artemist173: Huzzah! Ah yes, Hiro will have quite the struggle in the next chapter. Hebi didn't have so much as a reality check as a profound insight/revelation thing in this chapter. And I sprinkled some extra Taka in there just for you!

Hellbound-Shadow: Next two chapters, my friend! /winkwonk.

skydancerfyremagyk: I'm glad that the alice thing is working. /sparklesparkle. Huzzuh for the feels! Many thanks for the cookies!

Sabeloid: Eek, my bad!

Random Reader 17: Bigger showdown is going to happen in the next chapter. /nodnod. Thanks for the support and encouragement!

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Many thanks!

Ember Neutron: Next two chapters. /winkwonk.

AwesomeWriter2013: Ah! Thank you. /profuse blushing. And yeah, I'll add some more of Hiro/Team in the later chapters for sure! I'm glad that you enjoyed the chapter though. /nodnod.

Guest (1): My poor Itatchi bb. v-v. I love fairy tail! I'm following the manga right now. /nodnod. Wow, your orphanage thing is like spot on. Seriously. That's basically what their relationships are xD.

RoXaS707: Many thanks! Ohhh! Thanks for the book recommendations! I personally am a fan of Poe, so I'll look up some more writings about him!

eltigre122: Hiro is defs gonna be captured (as the preview shows)... And well, the rest will reveal itself.

TadashiFan: Ah yes, the calm before the storm. Thanks for the book recommendation! It sounds really interesting ;o.

hy0rinlove: The blue skidoo thing was perf. I'm still not over it. Bladed fans are really baddass tbh. I'd cheer you on if you decided to take up the art of the fan to take down Tako. XD. Glad you enjoyed the small dabbles of humor! /sparklesparkle. Ah yes. "Team Protect Tadashi Hamada at all costs" — I'm a senior member… even though… I… enjoy… torturing him? Idek. Some serious shit will go down during the festival though. I'll tell you that much. Everyone is going to be there so… hermdiherm…. Lol. Shirtless!Tadashi is a beautiful tadashi. /shotdead. Ah yes, Hiro is going to stumble down a deep rabbit hole… See what I did there? /pats self on back. Haha, okay. Mm… I can totally see Cass pulling a Molly Weasley. Next chapter, you know. /winkwonk. Ohhhh… Your theory is good! I won't say anything else other than that. /winkwonk. Lol. HeRo. That is such a good ship name, jesus xD. Well, they teamed up a bit in this chapter, so you never know. /winkwonk. (Kind of… xD. But I still think it's because we have a rainbow connection. /shotdead.)

A Sky Bison: Ah, thanks for the compliments o u o. Many thanks, many thanks! Sorry for the cliffy… Kind of left another one here too. /bows.

Tony18: Ah, okie. Thanks for your support, friend! /sparklesparkle.

kokolicious: I hope this chapter satisfied your Hebi &amp; Tadashi/Kitsune needs. Hmm… not to sure about the dating thing, but we'll see…

Lucky Traveler: Many thanks! o u o. I'll try my best not to abandon it!

Shoyzz: Huzzah! Unfortunately… Tadashi may have to figure out what happened himself, because Hiro will be… Yeah. /winkwonk.

Alexis-senpai: Hm…? o u o

kokolicious: YUS! I KNOW! HUZZZAHHHHH!

reclused-cat: JESUS CHRIST. MY POOR HAISE BB. HE NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS. KANEKI KEN WENT THROUGH ENOUGH ALREADY. Ah, thank you. v u v.

ColorQuill: I'm glad your enjoying the feels and the story! o u o. And if you're a nerdy masochist, I guest that makes me a nerdy sadist xD. /returns virtual hug.

ShallowGrip: Oh! Thanks for sharing it! o u o. It actually makes me happy when people think that my fic is good enough to share v u v.

PartyVacuole: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE COMPLIMENTS. Glad I helped you ace your test! Yeah, I do get writer's blocks. Planning ahead in the story helps eliminate them most of the time though. /thumbsup. I actually look at for most of the japanese characters I put in the story. Eek! Thank you so much for the gifts! o u o. /hugs and kisses.

Guest (2): Thank you for sharing your story! o u o. And thanks for the compliments too! I do plan on becoming an author maybe on the side… although.. herm… Anyways, thank you again! /hugs and kisses.

thatgirlnoonesees: Lol, glad you enjoyed that part xD.

Guest (3): Lol, noooo xD. Did it seem like that? Oh, huh, well… Whoops xD. My bad. Thank you much!

KittyKat5090: Here's another chapter for you, friend! Although… It's kind of not that suspenseful? I mean, the end is… but this is just a building-up chapter really… Herm.

FanGirlJen: Doesn't fanfiction email you when there's a new chapter? ;o. Thanks for the compliments though! /sparklesparkle.

Noel Penn: Ah, you're too kind. /blushes profusely. Glad you enjoyed the psychological aspects though. /nodnod. You really are too kind seriously. o u o. /hugs and kisses.

mangaluva: I'M A SADIST THAT'S WHY. (Tadashi is too pure for this world.) I'm glad you're enjoying the OCs. ;3. /sparklesparkle. Nah, your hatred from Tako is understandable. And you're hatred for the CASCO head is too. Hiro is going to have a rough time in the next for the compliments and the encouragements! ;D


	20. Festival

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Twentieth Encounter:_ Matsuri (祭り)

∟ "Festival"

* * *

\- Winter Festival | San Fransokyo Park | 8:55 p.m. -

It was held back in the air like water in a dam. Hearts thrummed to it, and smiles grew to it. "It" was excitement. Tremulous excitement. And it washed over San Fransokyo City like a tsunami and dragged everything into its depths with its waves. Such excitement was not surprising. It was the day of the Winter Festival, after all.

The air was pale and cool. The sky was a swirl of orange, purple, and blue dotted with faint white. The sun — a half disk — hung low on the horizon. It was one of the only two light sources that illuminated the city. The windows of large skyscrapers were pitch black, and the bulbs of gray street lamps were lifeless. In the place of all those artificial lights was the second source of light that illuminated the city: colorful lanterns. Coming in colors of pink, blue, red, yellow, and red, they wrap around the buildings of the city like vines.

The lanterns clustered together prominently in one section of the city — San Fransokyo Park. The park was littered with colorful game booths and simple food stalls. The air surrounding these booths and stalls was both warm and cold. The coldness leaked from winter night sky, while the warmth wafted from the gathered bodies and the smoke from the foot stalls. Despite this pleasantness, the park was deathly silent.

All the gathered bodies — some were draped in flowery kimonos and bright haoris; others had on either purple scarves, black gloves, or a bandanna painted on with the letter "V" — turned towards a singular figure. Aunt Cass too stared at the figure with eyes that were wide with horror. If it were not for the fact that she was being held back by five large men, she would've charged at that figure, pulled that figure into her arms, whisper comfortingly and soothingly into that figure's ears as she called for an ambulance. But—

— there her Tadashi stood, still protectively hugging the woman dressed in the navy kimono. Red dribbled down from his forehead onto the dirty ground. His head was hung low causing the stream of crimson to drip and drop steadily. The man who caused such an injury stood frozen a foot or so away from him. The iron pipe he had used to hit the bleeding man was still raised above his head. The pipe-wielding man laughed nervously to himself; but his laugh became lodged in his throat when he saw a smirk crawl up the bleeding man's face.

"Hilarious."

A cold and amused voice. An unnatural voice.

"You really are such an insignificant and depraved man."

With that phrase ringing in the air, Tadashi (?) lifted his head. Sharp dark eyes peeked out from behind the crimson. The gaze held within them was cold.

"M-Mr. Hamada…"

Tadashi (?) uncoiled himself from the woman he had been hovering over and studied the man who held the iron pole with fox-like eyes. The man holding the iron pole tensed at the gaze. His grip on the pole tightened; and much to his dismay, a scream ripped through his throat. He was acting on a primal and irrational human instinct. Fear.

The pole hurtled downwards.

"Tadashi!"

Aunt Cass screamed his name and tugged so hard against her subduers that she broke away from their grasps just as she witnessed—

—Tadashi (?) pluck the metal pole from the air and whip it around towards the original pole-holder. A sickening crack hit the air as the pole slapped against the gangly man's head. It was followed by a thud in which the gangly man slumped to the ground unconscious.

Did the bonehead want to get himself killed?!

Cass stumbled forward, but was stopped by Tadashi's extended arm.

'Stay back'?

'Wait'?

No.

'Don't interfere.'

He glanced over his shoulder, gazed at her with a cold and chilling look, and said calmly and collectedly with an amused smirk:

"Complications like you should stay back."

This was not Tadashi Hamada.

...

Not far from that area, Hiro Hamada faced a similar predicament. But, unlike his brother, he was not surrounded by a crowd with staring eyes. He was alone and barely conscious. He was, however, conscious enough to register the fact that he was being dragged along the ground somewhere by his hair. The tugs were painful; but his response to the pain was slow and sluggish.

"So, Alice, what do you think you'll discover once you fall down the rabbit hole?"

Hiro blearily glanced up at the man who was pulling him along. He felt sick. His stomach felt like it was being churned over and over again in his insides. And above his stomach, his heart felt like it was imploding in on itself.

"Will you become wiser? Will you grow as a character?"

His muddled mind watered down the panic building in his chest.

Confusion.

What in the world was this man saying?

"Maybe you'll be like Fox, like your brother. Maybe you'll become a tragic story like him."

Surprise.

"Ah? What's this? You didn't really think Fox's story would be a happy one, did you? It wouldn't be very entertaining if things unfolded that way, you know?"

Realization.

Anger.

"Either way, I'm sure that you'll become a beautiful work of art. Ah, I'll even write you out myself, alright?"

Fear.

And hatred.

* * *

[several hours earlier]

\- Lucky Cat Cafe | 6:42 p.m. -

"There is no way I'm wearing _that_."

The angry grumble loudly echoed around the bedroom; and a sigh was given in response to it:

"Come on, you big baby. Don't be so dramatic. I'm wearing it."

"Yeah," the grumbler scoffed, "because you're a weirdo and have no honour whatsoever."

"Unbelievable. What does this even have to do with honour?"

"_Everything_, Tadashi. Everything."

Tadashi Hamada, wrapped in black and gray haori, raised a thick eyebrow at his brother's response. He had expected such a response, but the dramatic undertone of it had caught him off guard. Raising the item he had been holding out to his brother higher, he pointed up with his free hand to an identical item that rested on his head.

"Don't be like that, drama king." He frowned, loosely touching the item resting on his head. "See, there's no shame in wearing it. I'm wearing it too. If anything, it's cute."

Hiro, wrapped in a purple and red haori, raised a thick eyebrow at his brother's response. His dark eyes then drifted towards the item resting on his brother's dark head.

Cat ears.

Black cat ears attached to a black headband.

Black cat ears attached to a black headband marked with bubbly letters that read: Lucky Cat Cafe!

That was what rested on his brother's head.

These black cat ears that were attached to a black headband were supposed to serve as "advertisement" for the Lucky Cat Cafe. Advertisement for the cafe? Hiro thought it was something more akin to punishment for a Hamada.

"Hiro," Tadashi continued testily with a disappointed frown, "don't you want to help Aunt Cass out?"

The guilt trip tactic. Tadashi had always utilized such a tactic to perfection. (And Hiro had successfully learned from him and had furthered improved the tactic.)

"Of course I want to help her out." Hiro rolled his eyes. Before he could even continue any further, Tadashi popped cat-themed headband onto his head. The ears barely stuck out from beneath his unruly hair.

"Good." Tadashi grinned triumphantly, patting Hiro on the head. "I knew that you were pure-hearted deep inside. "

"I knew that you were a demon deep inside." Hiro snarked back as he grumpily adjusted the headband to a more comfortable position.

"Ah, your words wound me." Tadashi teased, feigning hurt.

"I'm sure."

He stared down at Hiro for a moment, before his eyes widened slightly as if he had either recalled something or realized something. Without skipping a beat, he snapped his fingers and strode over to Hiro's desk.

Hiro watched curiously as his brother reached down into the crack between the desk and the bed; and his eyes widened as he saw his brother pull back from the crack with a dark blue slip of folded paper in tow. Blueprints. The blueprints he had been working on when Tadashi had been in a coma.

"I saw this other day." Tadashi explained, turning around and waving the blueprints in the air. "It looks impressive. If you want, you and I can—"

"Ack!" Hiro yelped, lunging at the blueprints and ripping them out of Tadashi's grasps. "No!"

Tadashi blinked in stupor as Hiro hastily shoved the blueprints into the folds of his haori.

"... Hiro," Tadashi drew with crossed arms, "do we need to have 'the talk'?"

"What?" Hiro blanched, before realization dawned on him and his cheeks reddened. "Jesus, it's not _porn_! You _saw_ what it was!"

"_Hm_..."

"Besides," Hiro grumbled, heading towards the bedroom door and rolling his eyes, "Baymax already went through all of _that_."

"Baymax?"

The confused and questioning tone caused Hiro turn in confusion and question. He found Tadashi staring at him in stupor. The stupor was lost on him. That is, until it dawned on him in a creeping and chilling wave that his older brother wore such an expression because he did not recognize nor understand the term.

"Y'know." Hiro laughed nervously, searching his brother's eye in worry. "The fluffy, affectionate marshmallow robot that you created?"

An empty stare.

Hiro's heart race quickened; and only after swallowing the lump in his throat did he muster the courage to press further: "He's a healthcare companion. You showed me him when you tricked me into wanting to go to SFIT, remember?"

And everything snapped back into place.

"Oh... Yeah..." Tadashi shook his head. "That's right..." He blinked and allowed his gaze to sweep the room. "I haven't been spending much time on him, have I...?"

A pause of silence.

"You have reached all new levels of nerdom if you're thinking about work when it's the Winter Festival." Hiro snapped quickly, putting on his best fit cocky mask and crossing his arms.

"It's not work." Tadashi returned gravely, seriously. "It's science. No, it's an adventure."

"Okay," Hiro deadpanned, stepping across the threshold, "I'm just going to pretend that you didn't just say that."

Tadashi rolled his eyes amicably and brushed past Hiro. While he did this, the latter slipped a small red box into the pocket of his haori unnoticed and then followed him across the small hall and down the stairwell.

"Hey," Tadashi spoke suddenly as he paused on the third step, "I want you to be careful tonight, alright?" He turned fully to face Hiro, before he continued: "Apparently, some dangerous and shady people have been hanging around the streets lately. The police are keeping an eye out, but you should still keep sharp, okay?"

"What?" Hiro laughed jokingly, hiding his troubled expression. "Is it so bad that you're going to plant another tracking device on me?"

"I considered it actually." Tadashi answered quickly, causing Hiro to scowl. "But I'm serious, Hiro. Even the very fact that there are rumors about things like that makes this entire festival more complicated." He paused and frowned, before he added: "And you know that complications aren't my cup of tea."

Hiro stared him. Tadashi stared back. _Not Kitsune. _

"Is there something on my face?"

"Er..." Hiro started and shook his head. He grinned nervously and smirked a smirk that did not reach his eyes: "Yeah. You're nerdiness."

"I honestly should have seen that one coming..."

"Mm. Yeah. You should've."

They continued down the stairs just like that — exchanging biting yet amicable remarks here and there. When they reached the bottom floor, they found a surprise waiting for them—

"Oh my gosh! You two look so cute!"

And they were barraged by the flashes from a camera. Hiro grimaced and winced rather unattractively in turn, while Tadashi smiled brightly. When both managed to recover from the dizzying flashes of light, they found a group of four awaiting them.

The causer of the camera flashes was none other than Honey Lemon, who was dressed in a flowery pink yukata. Her hair was drawn up into a complicated updo that was lavished with an oriental hairpin. Flanking her right and left were Wasabi and Fred. The former was dressed in a green haori while the later was dressed in a rather erratic-looking happi. Gogo, who stood beside

Fred with crossed arms, was dressed in a subdued yellow happi. She observed the brothers with a raised eyebrow:

"Why are the two of you wearing cat ears?"

"Oh, the boys are helping me out!"

— Aunt Cass, who shuffled into the room wearing a simple yukata, shouted such a thing as she entered the room with a camera in hand.

"Say cheese!" She sang before she raised and clicked the camera.

"Aunt Cass!" Hiro grumbled with a roll of his eyes.

"Hm, you really shouldn't have rolled your eyes, mister." Aunt Cass chastised in a strangely amicable tone as she gazed at the camera screen. "You honestly look like you're dying in this picture."

Tadashi went around and behind his aunt and peered at the camera screen. He broke out into a grin as he observed the digital image displayed there.

"Wow. I dunno Aunt Cass." Tadashi hummed in mock contemplation. "Hiro looks pretty great in my opinion. Disney Princess material."

Hiro's face flushed red. And then he saw his friends drift to his aunt's side.

"Delete it!" He screeched. "Delete it now."

"Saved."

"Aunt Cass!"

* * *

\- Winter Festival | Shiro Alley | 7: 16 p.m. -

The air was smoky and warm. The entire atmosphere was smoky and warm. It was almost like a dream. The excitement was the only thing that marked the entire event as reality.

This atmosphere of dream and reality hovered above Shiro Alley which was packed with an assortment of game booths and foot stalls. They lined the alleyway like the books in a shelf. Bright lanterns were strung above them like cobwebs.

A particular group of six (almost lost in the crowd drifting to and fro around them) wandered down this alleyway:

"Oh! Oh!" Fred cooed, pointing to yet another game booth. "Let's do that one! It looks like Dungeons and Dragons but with guns!"

He was getting stares.

"No! Wait!" Fred shook his head, pointing to a food stall across the alleyway. "Dude, that food looks sick! Let's go eat that instead!"

"Slow down there, Fred." Tadashi laughed, observing his energetic friend. He paused, reaching into the bag of popcorn he held in his hand, pulling out a white fluff, and popping it in his mouth. "We have all night to check things out — although," he paused, side-glancing at Hiro who walked along beside him with eyes sparkling with excitement, "someone has a curfew."

The excitement in Hiro's eyes immediately died away; and he raised an eyebrow at the spoken comment.

"Okay, how about no." He said with an air of finality.

"Yeah," Fred clipped, sliding in between the two brothers and throwing an arm over their shoulders, "you need to chill, dude."

"'Chilling'." Tadashi deadpanned with an indifferent expression. "There's no point in doing that."

There was a pause of silence in which everyone gazed at Tadashi's expression with widened eyes. Hiro in particular gave his brother an intense and disrupted look.

"Tadashi?" Honey Lemon whispered.

Tadashi stared at her with a strange sort of dissonance. An unnatural dissonance. And then…

"I…" Tadashi laughed lightly. "I was kidding, you guys…"

They continued to drill into him with their gazes.

"Huh, I guess I'm a better actor than I originally thought if you all took me so seriously…"

"Oh." Wasabi mimicked the laugh in a louder and more nervous tone of voice. "Haha, you really are an amazing actor! Look at that! You should totally go into show biz!"

"Er," Tadashi nodded slowly, stiffly, "Righ—

He was cut off as he was suddenly tugged to the side by one ecstatic-looking Cass Hamada. She pulled him into an awkward one-armed hug and pointed excitedly to a particularly colorful game booth.

"Ooh, honey!" She exclaimed, tugging him even closer to her body. "Win that one for me, 'kay?"

"Uh—"

Before he could even respond, Cass tugged him away towards the game booth she had indicated. Hiro and the others watched their backs carefully and un-movingly.

"I slipped Baymax into his haori earlier." Hiro murmured quietly to those who surrounded him. "But we should still keep an eye on him… Just in case." He paused thoughtfully, before he continued: "I'm having Baymax transmit scans of the area in his dormant state every ten minutes, so we should know if something weird happens."

"I don't like this, Hiro…" Wasabi sighed, studying Tadashi's back closely. "It's like we're sitting ducks."

"This'll work." Hiro promised, averting his gaze. He then shook his head distractedly. "Anyways, one of us should keep an eye on Tadashi at all times. The others… scope out the area. Radio in if anything comes up..."

"Sounds like a plan." Gogo nodded stiffly.

"I-I'll stick with him…" Hiro continued, raising his eyes to study his brother's back again. It looked as if his brother and his aunt were fully invested in whatever game they were playing. They were grabbing eachother, shaking eachother, and madly pointing at something that Hiro couldn't see.

Looking at the two of them made Hiro's heartache in a strangely melancholy and painfully pleasant way.

Please don't take him away from me… Not again. Please.

He flinched as a hand touched his shoulder. He didn't have to turn his head to know that it was Honey Lemon's hand that was on his shoulder and that it was the warm and comforting gazes of his friends that rested on his back.

"Chin up, Hiro. This is still a festival, y'know?"

"Yeah, dude. Food to eat, shows to watch, and games to play, bro!"

Hiro nodded slowly, before he glanced over his shoulder and flashed a smirk.

"And game booths to con." He added.

Wasabi and Honey Lemon gave him simultaneous disapproving looks.

"I'm kidding… ish." He said as he waved them off. "Anyways, keep a sharp eye."

With that, he left to join his aunt and his brother at the game booth.

* * *

\- Winter Festival | Trivia Booth | 7:32 p.m. -

Fred basked in the glorious gapes of awe he was receiving from those who surrounded him. He revelled in the expression of utter disbelief he was receiving from the woman who sat behind the counter of the booth before him.

"The Fredster's final answer is," Fred drew in a deep and dramatic tone, "Wolverine!"

The booth runner glanced down at the answer sheet she held in her hands and nodded slowly. She blinked up at him with raised brows.

"That's… That's the correct answer!"

"Booyeah!" He shouted, throwing his hands up in the air. "Fifty out of fifty questions correctomundo!"

"Oh man." Came a sudden and familiar voice from behind. "Would you look at this? This is like some tripped up scene from a love story where the main lead meets his love interest conquering something that he thought he knew best. Damn. I can't reference anything right now. Nothing comes to mind. But this is like some weird kind of hand of fate that's guiding us, isn't it? Damn. That's cheesey. Bromeo, bromeo — nah. That's not right either."

"The Fredzilla senses in the force that his token anti-hero friend has arrived." Fred grinned, spinning on his heels and coming face-to-face with the person he had been expecting to face. "What's shakin', Taka my man?"

The aviator-shades-wearing man who was dressed in a black and white yukata offered him brofist in response.

* * *

\- Winter Festival | Learn-a-Language Booth | 7: 59 p.m. -

The Hamada trio encountered two familiar faces when they slid into the red-curtained booth marked with the sign 'Learn-a-Language'. The trio had been animatedly discussing the prospects of using Mochi as a mascot for the cafe when they had eyed the booth from a distance. At Tadashi's excited insistence on learning a new language, Cass and Hiro agreed to accompany him on his expedition. When they slid into the booth, sat down on the provided stools, and observed the other occupants of the booth, however, the light atmosphere surrounding them fell slightly.

"Hiro…?"

Hiro found himself staring at his would-be professor who sat across from him on the other side of a makeshift table in-between them.

"_Callaghan_?"

"Professor Callaghan?" Tadashi gaped.

"Mr. Hamada?" Callaghan started in surprise.

"Robert." Aunt Cass frowned.

"Uhm..." Came a light voice from beside Callaghan. "It's nice to see you all here."

Hiro found his attention being diverted away from Callaghan and towards the young woman who sat beside him. Abigail. She was dressed in bright festival clothing. Callaghan was too, Hiro realized.

"It's nice to see you here too." Tadashi replied politely. It was evident that he was trying to make the best out of the situation. "How have you been?"

"Good." Abigail nodded, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes bore into Tadashi's own — she was calmly asking for him to keep the atmosphere steady. "How about you?"

"I'm good too." Tadashi replied curtly despite himself.

An awkward silence fell in which Hiro squirmed uncomfortably. He found himself continually glancing from Callaghan's figure to the stiff figure of his brother. Tadashi's expression was blank. This contrasted with his dark and glowering gaze and with his clenched fists. Aunt Cass too observed this with a concerned frown.

"N-Nii-san..." Hiro whispered, reaching over and touching his brother's shaking hand.

Tadashi paused, side-glancing at Hiro. And the younger Hamada found himself the subject of the glower glare. Instead of averting his eyes, however, he kept his gaze steady. The steady gaze caused Tadashi to start slightly. The man's glare softened and then dissipated as if it had never been present in the first place. A small and confused half-smile flickered beneath the soft gaze.

'It's alright.'

"I'm out on temporary prison leave," Callaghan explained finally in a gruff voice, "for the festival… I…" He paused, studying Tadashi's face closely. "I'm glad that you're alright, Tadashi."

The statement made Hiro's blood boil. It made him want to parkour over the table and punch Callaghan in the face. How dare the man say such a thin—

A firm hand rested on his knee and cut his angry thoughts off short. He didn't need to look up to realize that his brother was frowning at him worriedly.

'It's alright.'

"I heard that…" Callaghan continued after a pause. "I heard that you don't remember anything after the fire…"

"... yeah." Tadashi replied hesitantly, studying his hands, before he cleared his throat loudly. "Nine months…."

When he didn't receive a response, Tadashi raised his eyes. Much to his surprise, he found that his former professor was observing him with a melancholy smile.

"Professor?"

Hiro flinched as his brother used the address, as did Callaghan.

"I haven't been called that in a very long time…"

Tadashi found himself torn between sympathy and… and something that he couldn't put his finger on. The man sitting across from him was someone whom he had looked up to, someone whom he had even viewed as a father figure, someone who had taken advantage of his little brother, someone who had stolen his little brother's invention, someone who was—

— pathetic?

A woman swept into the booth at that moment. And it didn't take long for the occupants of the booth to realize that she was the booth runner.

"Sorry, sorry!" The woman sang as she sat at the head of the table on a stool that towered above all the others. "Got caught up on lunch break!"

"It's fine." Aunt Cass waved her off. "We weren't waiting too long."

"That's good!" The woman smiled, reaching beneath the table and pulling out a stack of laminated index cards. "So what language would you like to learn?"

"Chinese!" Tadashi pipped without skipping a beat.

"Nerd." Hiro scoffed at his enthusiastic reaction.

"Learning a language is like the key to opportunities, Hiro." Tadashi chastised with a frown. "When you learn a new language, you'll be able to see things from diff—

"—different angles." Hiro rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. You really need to come up with a new catchphrase." He paused, raising an eyebrow. "Anyways… didn't you take Chinese in high school already or something?"

"Huh?" Tadashi blinked thoughtfully. "Did I…?"

"Hem, hem!" The booth runner cleared her throat loudly as she clasped her hands together. "Now, if you'd kindly pick a word in English, I'll pop out what it translates to first in Japanese and then Chinese, alright?"

"Alright…" Abigail hummed to herself. "Let's see…"

"Sky." Tadashi pipped just as quickly, albeit more calmly than before. "How about 'sky'?"

"Sky…" the woman drew, flipping through her cards, selecting one from the stack, and placing it on the table. "... translates into 'sora' in Japanese."

Hiro and Callaghan froze. They stared down at the card printed on with the romaji and kanji alphabetized spelling of the word that had just been pronounced. And then they hesitantly raised their gazes to Tadashi who was staring at the booth runner intently.

"And in Chinese, 'sky' translates into…" the woman continued, reaching into the deck again and pulling out a card; she placed the card on the table and read it out loudly for them: "Tien."

The word sounded familiar to Hiro. Too familiar. His heart pounded madly in his chest. It pounded so loudly that he could even hear it thrumming in his ears.

"How about 'cage'?" Tadashi tried.

"Well," the woman sighed, drawing two cards out from the deck and placing them onto the table, "'cage' in Japanese can be translated as 'keiji'. In Chinese it can be translated as 'Lóng'."

Hiro felt a wave of nausea wash over him. It ate away at his stomach and rose upwards until it touched the base off his throat. It burned there like lava. A paradox. After All, the rest off his body felt like it had been dunked in a liquidy substance with the temperature of zero degrees Kelvin.

"_Hello. I am Doctor Tien Lóng."_

No.

No.

No.

It couldn't be…. All along… and right below his nose….

Hiro came to realize that he had left his older brother in the care of those who broke him in the first place.

"Hiro?"

A light hand touched his shoulder.

"Hiro, look at me. Are you okay?"

Hiro shook his head and blinked upwards and found himself staring at his brother's concerned expression. Concern. Kindness. Love. Hiro didn't want to see anything but those expressions on his brother's face. Expressions like apathy, hate, and anger did not belong on his brother's face… but Sora Keiji — Doctor Tien Long — had forcefully painted such masks onto his face without a second thought.

"H-Hiro…?"

"I-I'm fine!" Hiro rolled his eyes and brushed his brother's hand away. "I need to use the restroom though." He rose from his seat only to be stopped by another question—

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"Ew, no, you weirdo." Hiro scowled, his cheeks flushing red (Whether they were flushed because of embarrassment or because of the panic running through his mind was unclear.). "I'm fourteen, Tadashi!"

Without skipping a beat, Hiro strode over to the opening flap on the other side of the tent, brushed past Callaghan and Abigail, and exited the tent without another word. He exited it so rapidly that he did not realize that the folded blue paper tucked in his haori had fallen out just as he made his exit. Callaghan was the only one who noticed such an occurrence, in fact; and he reached down to pick up the fallen paper with a frown. When he unfolded the paper and saw what had been roughly sketched out onto it, his frown deepened. Without another word, he tucked away the paper into the folds of his haori.

…

The world around Hiro was a blur. Colors leaking from colorful yutakas and haoris painted themselves around him; and the light beaming from the swinging lanterns burned holes into his retinas.

Sick.

He felt sick.

A large and wooden outhouse shack entered his vision; and he stumbled towards haphazardously. Once he reached the protruding structure, he turned, leaned his back against it, and allowed the coldness from the wood to seep into his sticky back.

Placing a hand on his hammering chest, he breathed in deeply and then breathed out slowly.

In. Out.

In. Out.

Just like his brother had taught him.

Slowly, slowly, the confusion in his mind began to settle.

"Ew, loser, what are you doing? Shouldn't you be watching Tadashi?"

He didn't have to raise his bowed head to know that Hebi was now standing with crossed arms in front of him. He was too weak to acknowledge her, however.

"Hey… A-Are you alright, loser?"

"I…" Hiro swallowed, raising his head slightly. "I… I think I found out who Sora Keiji is now…"

"What?!" came the hissing response.

He felt Hebi grab him by the shoulders. He winced as her nails dug into his skin.

"Who?!" She hissed. "Who is it?!"

"It's…" Hiro raised his head and met Hebi's eyes. "It's the doctor who was taking care of Tadashi at the hospital."

Hebi froze.

"Doctor Tien Long."

"What?" She exclaimed. "He didn't do anything to my Kitsune while he was there, did he?! Did he?!"

"I…" Hiro shook his head in frustration and slapped Hebi's hands away from his shoulder. "I don't know!"

"Well, we can't just sit here!" She snapped. "We need to go get that guy! We need to tell the others. You need to tell the rest of your loser team!"

"I know, I know!" Hiro snapped back with a glare. "I—

"Hm? So is this our 'Alice'?"

— Such a thing was asked in a haughty voice by one of the members of a gangly group that had suddenly formed around the two adolescents. The two had been so caught up in their conversation that they hadn't even realized the group's presence until that point — quite the feat, seeing that the group numbered well over twenty.

Purple bandanas.

Black gloves.

Articles of clothing painted on with the letter 'V'.

— The members of the gangly group were dressed in such things.

"Ugh." Hebi growled. "You have got to be kidding me!"

Several members of the group grinned at her response; and, without skipping a beat, they lunged at the adolescents.

* * *

\- Winter Festival | Mask Booth | 8:09 p.m.-

Tadashi stared uncertainly at the booth runner who sat behind the counter with a nonchalant smile. He recognized this booth runner, but he couldn't recall from where.

"Is there something wrong, Fox?"

"Oh," Tadashi shook his head and smiled apologetically, "no, sorry."

He averted his gaze and swept the area with a glance. Where in the world was Aunt Cass? She had dragged him away from the language booth for some reason (something about seeing Hiro with a… girl…?) and had suddenly disappeared from his sights when he had gotten distracted by… Well, he wasn't quite sure what he had gotten distracted by. This mask booth perhaps?

"So..." Tadashi tried, glancing around the innards of the booth. He studied the assorted masks lining the back wall of the booth curiously. He was amazed at how colorful and unique they were. Intricate even. He smiled and continued amicably: "Do you have any masks that you think would suit me?"

"Ah!" The booth runner clasped his hands together and smiled. "I thought you'd never ask!"

Tadashi watched with a slightly raised eyebrow as the booth runner quickly reached beneath the counter. He became pleasantly surprised when the booth runner pulled out a black object from under there and placed it on the countertop. Tadashi studied the item carefully. It was obviously a mask. Dark ears protruded from its top; and red and gold intricate curls and lines ran along its angular features.

"Wow!" Tadashi gaped. "That's… This is really amazing!" He paused, hesitantly reaching towards the mask. "Is it alright if I touch it?"

"Go ahead, go ahead!" The booth runner sang. "It's yours now after all! For free."

"Huh?" Tadashi blinked in surprise, before he waved his hand and shook his head bashfully. "No, no. I-I can't take this—"

"No, I insist." The booth runner pressed, pushing the mask towards him. "You'd be doing me an artistic favor. The mask suits you perfectly. A fox mask befitting for a for a fox!"

Tadashi prepared to protest politely, but he was cut off as the booth runner quickly shoved the item into his hands.

"Now, run along, Fox." The booth runner waved him off. "I have a particular customer that I've been waiting to show."

"Uh… Er…" Tadashi frowned in confusion. "Alright? I guess…?" He gave a hesitant bow. "Thank you very much for the free mask."

Waving the booth runner off, he merged with the strolling crowd with a perturbed expression. Something about that booth runner… did not sit well with him. Frowning, he studied the mask in his hands.

It really was a nice mask. It looked like it would fit on his face perfectly too. The booth runner had probably put a lot of work into it too—

— Bam!

A body collided with his own, causing Tadashi to stumble backwards.

"Ey! Watch it!"

"I'm so sorry!" Tadashi pipped automatically, reaching over and steadying the person he had just collided with. The woman was dressed in a bright yellow kimono and had a fiery head of red hair and slanted cat-like eyes. Beneath these slanted eyes was a smirk, a smirk that slowly devolved into a gape.

"K-Kit…?"

"Huh?" Tadashi smiled at her confusion, before he shook his head. "Wait, are you okay? I should've been looking where I was going. I'm so sorry."

There was a pause in which the cat-like woman observed him with widened eyes. This pause made Tadashi briefly wonder if he had somehow offended her in some way.

"Ta… dashi?"

The older Hamada started as the woman whom he had never seen before in his life spoke his name in a questioning yet familiar tone.

"Yeah?" Tadashi frowned, studying the woman closely; he shook his head. "Wait. I don't mean to be rude, but how do you know my name? Have we met before?"

Another awkward pause. A melancholy look had overtaken the woman's expression.

"Again, huh?" She murmured. "That thinkpan of yours is sure amazin'."

"Huh…?" Tadashi blinked in confusion, before he registered the woman's downcast expression. "Hey, what's wrong?"

It was an awkward question to be giving someone he had just met for sure, but his concern for her was real. She evidently heard the honesty in his voice and glanced up at him with pursed lips. Her gaze was intense.

"Aren't ya' just an adorable ball of fluff — bein' so concerned for me n' all?" She questioned in a playful tone as she broke out into a coy grin.

"Uhm." Tadashi blinked, before he laughed lightly and confusedly. "Thanks?"

She observed him carefully as if she was expecting him to say more. But he did not. Her expression then became hard to decipher.

"You're a good kid, y'know that?" She asked suddenly, causing Tadashi to blink curiously at her.

"Oh, thanks." He nodded, before he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and said: "You… You seem like a good… a nice person too."

The woman stared at him for a moment, before she threw her head back with a loud and booming laugh. Her reaction to his compliment caught him off guard.

"Ya really are a good kid!" She continued to laugh, patting him on the shoulder. "It's okay to stay like this, y'know?"

"Uh…" Tadashi gaped in confusion.

"Oh." She hummed, pointing to the cat-themed headband that rested on his head. "Mind if I ask what that lovely fashiony thing is for?"

"Oh, this," Tadashi explained, bowing his head so that she could read what was imprinted on the headband, "is to advertise for my aunt's cafe. The Lucky Cat Cafe. You should stop by sometime. It's really great."

"Really great, huh?" She repeated as she smiled coyly; she paused, crossing her arms and nodding at him. "Ya gotta do something more convincing than that to get me to go there!" She snapped her fingers and added jokingly: "Oh, I know! How about ya' give me a 'Nyaa, meow, meow, eat at the Lucky Cat Cafe' chant?"

He stared at her in deep thought, in deep consideration.

"Uh…" She blinked at him. "I was just kitting—"

"Nyaa, meow, meow, eat at the Lucky Cat Cafe!" He meowed, mimicking the motions of a cat in a strange sort of dance. After doing such a thing, he straightened himself and offered her a smile. "How was that?"

She stared at him. And stared. And then she threw her head back and laughed again. Once again, her actions caught him off guard. He was even more caught off guard when she suddenly reached over and ruffled his hair.

"That was amazin'!" She grinned a cheshire-cat grin. "You should do that more ofte—" She paused, wide-eyed, as her gaze fell upon the mask he held in his hands. Her amicable expression immediately darkened and soured. "Where… Where did you get that?"

"From the mask booth back there." Tadashi explained in slight stupor as he jerked his thumb backwards. "I could take you back there if you'd like—

"No." The woman snapped with an air of finality that caused Tadashi to jump slightly. She smiled and explained quickly: "I can find it myself, ya' know? Anyways… You shouldn't go near that booth, ya hear? My cat senses are tellin' me that it'll be bad news for ya if you go there again." She paused and slapped her hands onto his shoulder, before she continued: "And stick close to your little bro, okay, Tadashi?"

"Hu—"

"Now," the woman continued, spinning him around and pushing him in the opposite direction, "go and have a blast!"

When Tadashi turned around, she was gone and he was left with a whirlwind of confusion.

"What…? Just? Happened?"

…

Neko stared after the man whom she had come to know as Kitsune. After a minute or so of doing this, she scoffed to herself and shook her head.

It was what it was. There was no helping it.

Rolling her neck, she clicked her tongue and squinted in the direction in which the man had thumbed.

"Time ta get me some Takoyaki to eat." She muttered to herself as she cut the crowd in search of the mask booth. On her way to her destination, she passed by a rather familiar figure who was scoping out the area with a pensive expression. She approached this figure with her hand on her lip. "Wow, look what the cat dragged in!"

The figure lifted her dark head and gave a sparing and disinterested glance in Neko's direction. Her eyes narrowed immediately.

"What are you doing here?"

"Cold shoulder much, doll?" Neko grinned. The biting look she received prompted her to explain: "Now, don't give me that look. Somethin' tells me that we're here for the same reason… Takin' down Tako, right? And through him CASCO. The others are here too."

The figure grunted in response.

"Say, why don't we try and work together again, Gogo?" Neko pressed. "Fourths time the charm they say. Plus, I have an inkling as to where our Takoyaki is."

* * *

\- Winter Festival | San Fransokyo Park | 8:10 p.m. -

Tadashi finally managed to find his aunt wandering in San Fransokyo Park. He was glad. He had originally wanted to spend the festival making up lost time with Hiro, his aunt, and his friends. They, however, had seemed rather busy themselves. He couldn't blame them. The festival was amazing. It was easy to get distracted by the booths and stalls. San Fransokyo Park in particular was filled with an overwhelming number of distracting booths and stalls. The wandering crowds of people and the bright flashing lights were almost dizzying.

Thankfully enough, Aunt Cass had been searching for him the entire time too apparently. She exclaimed such a thing as she tugged him towards yet another game booth that she had scoped out. She also informed him that she had seen Hiro wandering around with a girl. A girl. A girl? His baby brother was with a girl? Dating?

"This is a batting one, Tadashi!" His aunt explained, drawing him out of his thoughts, as they came to a stop by a brightly lit booth labeled 'Ballseye!'. "My gut tells me that you'll be able to shoot for the grand prize!"

"Ah, yes," Tadashi cracked his fingers with a cocky grin, "leave it to me, Aunt Cass!"

"Miss Hamada. Mr. Hamada."

The two Hamadas turned and found themselves greeted with the flash of a navy kimono and a deep bow. Cropped black hair, pale lids from which heavy lashes sprouted.

May—ko. Maeko. It was Maeko Rice.

"It is a pleasant surprise to meet you here." The woman acknowledged them steadily.

"Oh!" Aunt Cass grinned widely. "Maeko! Fancy seeing you here!" She turned to Tadashi and gestured to Maeko: "Tadashi, this is—-

"Maeko Rice." Tadashi nodded with a half-smile. "Yeah, we met earlier…" He trailed off.

The young woman and the young man stared at each other for a long moment. The former searched the latter's face for answer to a singular question that rang in her mind, while the latter searched the former for a distant memory that rested just below the surface. It was the strangest thing, but Tadashi had the urge to reach over and ruffle the girl's hair.

"My, Mr. Hamada, is that you?"

Yet another ironic encounter.

Tadashi, without needing to turn his head, knew that the man known as Alistair Krei was approaching him from behind. The autocratic and business-like tone of voice told him such a thing right away. But the older Hamada had to wonder —- how exactly was he encountering all these familiar faces in the string of one night? He almost felt like he was the main character in some sort of psychological story written by a mad author — like he was being set up, even.

"Oh!" Aunt Cass smiled a more subdued smile. "Alistair!"

Tadashi turned to greet the man and nearly choked on his greeting.

There Alistair Krei, head of the advanced technological behemoth known as Krei Tech, stood wearing enormous sunglasses and a dusty fishing hat. It was quite the contrast to the class businessman Tadashi remembered him being.

"Ah, yes. These things." Krei gestured to the glasses and hat off-handedly. "Can't have someone recognizing me now, can I?" He paused, studying Tadashi closely. "How are you and your brother doing, Mr. Hamada?"

"Oh. We're doing well." Tadashi nodded with a half-smile.

"I heard from Robert that you… don't remember anything after the showcase fire." Krei continued.

Maeko's eyes darkened unnoticeably at this statement.

"Oh, yeah." Tadashi rubbed the back of his head. "It's all blank really." He dropped his hand and gazed at Krei seriously. "I heard that you helped raise money to build… a… memorial dedicated to me. And…" He paused, bowing deeply, before he continued. "I'd really like to thank you."

"Not a problem, Mr. Hamada." Krei smiled strangely. "It was the least I could do."

"Thank you again." Tadashi repeated nonetheless, straightening himself. "I—

"Wow. We must be lucky, finding two of our targets sitting out here like ducks."

Tadashi turned his head in the direction of the new voice and tensed as he registered a large group of men and women gathering around them. Several members of the group held rather dangerous weapons in their hands.

"How unfashionable." Maeko muttered under her breath.

Tadashi blinked down at Maeko incredulously.

"L-Look," Krei stammered, raising his hands in the air, "I don't get what the problem here is, bu—"

"Shut up, old fart." One member of the group scoffed as he stepped forward with a metal pipe slung over his shoulder. "We ain't talkin' to you."

He jerked his head. And guided by that signal, several members of the group grabbed Krei and Cass and pulled the two into a tight hold. Krei was forced onto his knees.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Aunt Cass scowled at the men and women who held her in place.

"Aunt Cass!" Tadashi shouted in horror. "Krei!" He took a step towards his aunt, but was stopped as the pipe-wielding man stepped in-between them.

"How about you take a step back there, you eye-stabbing bastard." The pipe-wielding man hissed.

"What?" Tadashi shook his head, before he said slowly: "Look, there seems to be a misunderstanding of some kind —"

"There's no misunderstanding." The pipe-wielding man smiled. "You see…."

Confusion.

'_I've seen this situation somewhere before.'_

'_Dejavu.' _

'_I haven't just seen this… I've experienced this. I… remember… this?'_

— thoughts like that ran through the older Hamada's head as he listened to the pipe-wielding man's — no, Ron's… no, not Ron… who was Ron? — explanation:

"... we're here to get revenge on you for what you did to that Black Glovey's eye."

"_... we've had to kill several members of our gang in order to pass on to the next level."_

What?

The words the pipe-wielding man said blurred together with the words of the voice inside his head. The conglomeration of noises caused a sharp pain to prick his temple.

"But first…" The pipe-wielding man drew as he slipped past Tadashi and headed towards Maeko. "We need to take care of this dog for what she did to my two buddies."

"Wait." Tadashi shouted, repeating the words that echoed inside of his pounding head as he cradled it. "Leave them alone. I'll come with you. Without resistance."

"What? Playing hero?" The pipe-wielding man scoffed, before he turned to face Maeko with a smirk; he raised the pipe above his head. "Sorry, but no. I have a bone to pick with this one!"

A flash of silver glinted in the air—

— no, not again.

Not Maya.

She was just a kid.

"Maya!" Tadashi cried, darting to the woman's side and wrapping her in a tight embrace just as the pipe hurtled downwards. He blinked down and registered her familiar expression, just before he felt the pipe crack against the back of his head.

"Tadashi!"

The world blurred around him. And he felt something warm trickle down his forehead. Blood. It blurred his vision of the world even more.

Pathetic.

"Tadashi!"

That… wasn't his name…?

No, it definitely wasnt.

... In a far away field of white roses, a red spider-lily bloomed.

* * *

\- Winter Festival | Shiro Alley | 8:12 p.m. -

"I dunno, Honey, isn't this a little too suspicious?"

Honey Lemon, who was taking a picture of a particularly colorful food stall, glanced over her shoulder at Wasabi with a perturbed frown.

"Just a bit…" She agreed, pocketing her phone. "Nothing has really happened yet…" She paused, deep in thought, and tried in a hopeful tone: "Maybe they gave up and decided to call it a day?"

"Wouldn't that be great?" Wasabi sighed longingly.

And of course, as soon as those words left his mouth, he came to realize that a group of gangly men and women had formed a U-shape around them.

"Uh, Honey Lemon…"

"Yes, Wasabi?" Honey Lemon asked lightly as she whipped out her phone and took a picture of a particularly cute fox-themed prize that rested in front of a game booth.

"It's not so suspicious anymore…"

* * *

\- Winter Festival | Mask Booth | 8:13 -

Empty. The mask booth was empty. Cleared it out completely.

"What a waste of time." Gogo clicked her tongue in annoyance as she crossed her arms.

"Ah, well," Neko shrugged, "Takoyaki is one slimy octopus. I just want to eat him like sushi. Pun intended."

"What made you think he was here in the first place?" Gogo asked thickly, blowing a bubble of gum and popping it in her mouth.

"Tadashi…" Neko frowned. "I saw Tadashi holding a fox-mask… and I thought…" She shrugged.

"You saw Tadashi?" Gogo mirrored the frown with eyes that glinted with curiosity.

"Yeah," Neko grinned, "good kid. Datable material."

"Whatever." She grimaced. "It'd be weird if Tako was the one who gave Tadashi the mask. I mean, he let Tadashi go… And, last time I checked, Tako had a creepy, stalker-ish crush on Kitsune or something."

"Yeah, doll," Neko nodded. "That's what I thought too…" She paused, her eyes widening slightly. "Unless…"

"Unless?" Gogo pressed.

Neko raised her head and gazed at Gogo with growing realization—

"Hiro."

"... What?"

"'Ey, would you look at this. It's the punk Asian chick that beat on some of our guys the other day. Who knew she'd be a member of the Big Hero Six too."

Gogo turned her head in the direction of the new voice and clicked her tongue. A mob of men and women were reflected in her dark eyes. They were obviously from the bad side of San Fransokyo. Gogo even recognized several of them from her late night vigilante escapades.

"Doll," Neko laughed, "ya really don't have that many friends do you?"

"Don't need that many." Gogo answered curtly.

"Look at this chick." One of the mob members grimaced. "Acting tough even though she doesn't have her gear with her."

"Woah, touchy." Neko rolled her eyes.

"One," Gogo clipped, ignoring Neko's comment, "I don't need my armor to beat you. Two," she paused with a smirk, reaching into the folds of her clothing and pulling out a yellow box, "my gear is right here, boys." She pressed down on a nodule on the box without skipping a beat.

Neko and the mob watched with gaping expressions as the box divided itself into tiny little nodules — nodules that oddly resembled Hiro's microbots — that stretched across her open palm and swam across her arm. In less than a second, her entire body became devoured by the nodules. In the next second, the nodules took on a bright yellow color.

Several members of the mob took a step backwards at this sight. Neko, on the other hand, whistled impressed.

"Alright," Gogo blew another bubble and popped it, "I'll pick who's first."

* * *

\- Winter Festival | Kuro Alley | 8:15 -

The gathered members of the Vendetta Gang, the Black Gloves, and Purple Scarves stared in stupor at the amicably chatting duo before them. The gathered members had taken extra measures to look more impressive and more deadly than normal — they were holding metal pipes, nailed bats, and chains for heaven's sake! So why… Why were the two men that they were supposed to be opposing upon talking casually amongst themselves? —

"Mm, dude, I'm pretty sure that we're more like Superman and Batman."

"Bro, no. Look. I know I got that whole anti hero thing about me, and you got that whole superhero thing about you; but that just doesn't cut it. I mean, you don't see Batman walking around with aviator shades and listening to Uptown Funk, do you? And you don't see Superman morphin' into Godzilla or some other unworldly creature and breathing fire from his mouth and fanboying, do you? Nah, son. That ain't them. We ain't them."

"Huh, you have a point, my friend. But we can't pin ourselves onto a super duo personality-wise either, man. I mean, look at the whole DC reboot thing! We could if you want, but it wouldn't be accurate, y'know?"

"Damn. Your right. Maybe superpowers then? You could be a mix of Hulk and the Human Torch or somethin' and I could be — I dunno — some weird mixture of Hawkeye and… and…"

"Dude, you'd make a really good Hawkeye."

"You think?"

"Yeah, dude. You've got that whole hipster-starbuck-drinker aura surrounding you. Fred-sensei can sense it."

"Wow… Thanks, Fredzilla. That actually means a lot."

"Yup. No prob, man."

"Uh, so you wanna take these guys out or what?"

"Oh, yeah. And then we can go out for shawarma later! Oh, that'd be so epic!"

The alleyway then became engulfed in flames.

* * *

\- Winter Festival | Outside Outhouse | 8:31 p.m. -

Hiro watched as the last member of the offensive gang slumped to the floor unconscious with a triumphant smirk.

"Well, that was easier than easy!" Hebi scoffed from beside him as she wounded up her silver wire. "You're not so much of a loser when you team up with me, you know?"

Hiro turned away from her and rolled his eyes.

"Don't you mean the other way aroun—

Bam!

Thud!

"Hebi?!" Hiro exclaimed, turning on his heels and finding Hebi slumped on the ground unconscious before him. "Hebi!"

"Hello, Alice." Came a sing-song voice from behind him.

Before Hiro could even turn around again, however—

—a wet napkin was clamped over his face; and in his struggle, he inhaled the fumes that were imbedded within it. The world spun madly around him the colorful festival lights faded from his vision; and he fell into blackness.

His final thought?

_All according to plan._

* * *

\- Winter Festival | San Fransokyo Park | 9:03 p.m. -

Aunt Cass couldn't fully comprehend what had happened. It had all happened so fast. One second, her Tadashi had been bent over bleeding before a man wielding a pipe. In the next second, her Tadashi had literally ripped the pipe out of the man's hands and smacked him unconscious with it.

… and now?

The mob members were lunging at Tadashi simultaneously. And they were ferociously shouting at him too. But… Tadashi swept them off of their feet, kicked them back, and smacked them unconscious with a decisive blow to the head with the metal pipe.

He was fast.

Inhumanely fast.

He tore through them like ragdolls.

Unconscious body littered the ground.

The men holding her and Krei down released them and charged at Tadashi who had just somersaulted (?) over a man, grabbed said man by the shoulders, and flipped him over. One of the newly attacking men swung a metal chain at Tadashi's head. The latter plucked the chain out of the air, pulled the chain-wielding man forward with it, and wrapped the man and another gangly woman who stood beside him in a tight coil with it. He kicked the enchained duo down with finality, marking the end of the one-sided battle.

"Tadashi…?"

"He's the one…" Maeko murmured, clenching her fists tightly.

Aunt Cass stared at Maeko in confusion, before she returned her attention to her nephew. Without pausing to think, she scrambled to her feet and began to run to his side when—

— crack!

A scream clouded the air. Not her nephew's scream, but the scream of the enchained woman whom her nephew had smacked in the arm with the metal pipe.

"Tell me." Tadashi drew in a voice that was not his own as he bent down next to the whimpering woman. "Who sent you."

The enchained woman shook her head fiercely and gazed desperately at the man beside her. The man, however, kept his shaking gaze glued to the ground.

"I asked you a question." Tadashi deadpanned, reaching over and grabbing the woman by her hair and tugging her up to eye-level. "I would be lying if I said that I didn't expect a straight answe—-

"Tadashi! Stop it!"

The man paused at the call, released the woman, and came to a stand. He threw a glance over his shoulder and glowered at the woman he saw standing behind him. Her expression was fierce. No… it was concerned?

"Why."

"What?" She shook her head incredulously. "Listen here, you knucklehead—-"

"Tell me why and I might consider stopping." He blinked down at the woman whimpering at his feet. "If not…."

A whining buzz filled the air. And Aunt Cass barely made out a flash of yellow ripping through the night air. This flash of yellow hurtled right towards Tadashi's head. Quickly and almost inhumanely, he dropped the pipe and raised his hand and caught it—

— or, at least, he tried to. The yellow disk whipped painfully against his hand, causing him to drop it altogether and resort to ducking his head away from the disk. The item crashed into a nearby food stall and created a cacophony in its wake.

"Impressive." Tadashi noted, shaking his throbbing hand and turning towards the person who had thrown the item at him. "You learned."

Aunt Cass shook her head incredulously as she registered Gogo who was dressed in a skin-tight yellow suit standing behind Tadashi.

"That's what people do." Gogo scoffed at him. "But it looks like you still haven't learned a thing, Kitsune."

"... Where's Hiro?" Tadashi pressed, ignoring her comment.

Gogo's eyes widened slightly at his tone of voice. And she came to register the fact that the younger Hamada was not with him. This was bad.

"You…" Tadashi snapped, kicking the enchained man and woman at his feet to the ground. "I'll ask you one more time, wh—"

— bam!

Tadashi's eyes snapped to the back of his head; and he fell to the ground with a thud. In his place stood one flustered-looking Cass Hamada holding a metal pipe above her head.

"M-Miss Hamada?"

"Miss Tomago." Aunt Cass nodded back as she bent down on her knees and drew Tadashi's head onto her lap.

"Are you okay?"

"I will once someone calls the ambulance… and when someone tells me what's really going on here!"

* * *

_Next Chapter_: Ookami (狼)

∟"Wolf"

"Y-You're telling me that…. my brother, my robot, and my friends are a part of the Big Hero Six?!"

…

"Poor little, Alice… What kind of story shall we make you into? A tragedy would sure be nice! Ah, I do wonder what kind of scream you'll scream — for artistic purposes, of course… What kind of monster will this turn you into?"

…

"Do… I know you?"

"Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare say that after you led Hitsuji to his death! Don't you dare say that after Usagi has gone missing!"

…

"You killed my sister."

...

"Hiro… I-I have to save Hiro! Please l-let me go!"

"... You can't go. Not like you are now."

"Tadashi, your mental and emotional states are highly unstable. It would be best if you get rest."

…

"So you're Keiji Sora, huh?"

"And you're Hiro Hamada, the final test subject of Project Animal."

* * *

**A/N**: Now to go type my English essay, to study for an ap comparative test than I am so not prepared for, and to finish my lab report! Haha! /dies. I really am sorry about missing last week's update. Last week was rough. Actually, this week is even more rough. It sucks. I prevailed, however! /sparklesparkle. Not sure if I'll prevail in the future…

Didn't really edit this chapter… at all. So so sorry for any grammatical/spelling/comma errors you might come across. I just really needed to get this posted. I'll fix stuff up later! /sparklesparkle

Over 300 follows?! Huzzah!

Thanks to all those who read, followed, and favorited!

An especially big thanks to —

mangaluva: Ah, I really enjoyed writing those fluffy scenes tbh o u o. Poor, poor Usagi. v-v. As for the Tadashi-facing-the-horror… It will be a lot of pain, my friend…. a lot of mental and agonizing pain and hallucinating and mental trauma o u o. Protective!Tadashi to the rescue. Maeko is definitely human. Normal Badass though. /nodnod.

bukalay: Maybe, maybe. Many thanks for the compliments!

skydancerfyremagyk: HUZZAH! Thanks for the compliments! And poor Hebi indeed. And poor Usagi too. So much misfortune. And… /coughs. More to come. Baymax will make an appearance in the next chapter for sure!

The Logical Fallacy: /winkwonk. Yas.

kokolicioius: Aw. I'm sorry for your feels, friend. Chinese food is great!

jayswing96: Your hate for her is understandable xD. I don't blame ya.

Glee Clue Rock 1251: Many thanks! o u o

Artemins173: Thank you for the compliments! Let's have faith in Hiro, shall we? /sparklesparkle. Your distaste for Hebi is completely understandable xD. And I understand what you're saying about the age gap thing too. I personally am not much of a shipper so… /shrugs. Yup, yup. I view it as more of a sibling thing too. /whispers: there won't be any concrete pairings in this story. you see it as you like it, really. Hope you enjoyed the Taka-Fred scene in this one.

TadashiFan: How many books are out in the series right now? ;o. Thanks for the compliments! Tadashi starts remembering and being traumatized in the next chapter o u o. Thanks for the good wishes!

teengens: Thank you for the compliments! Lmfao. /cheers you on. Go get dem bitches, girl. Thank you for the compliments once again!

A Sky Bison: Yup, Kitsune's still there. I'm glad you liked that line! I high-fived myself a little bit after I typed it out. anti-Hiro? xD

DestinyWing: Yup, yup! Ohhh! I've heard of that song! It's really creepy, but in a good sort of way! The music video for it is interesting too. I haven't really focused on the lyrics of that song, but since you mentioned it I'll check it out!

2yuki7: And here the winter festival is! I tried. v-v''. This chapter was rough to churn out tbh. Ah, well. The whole Tadashi-Kitsune debacle gets tackled in the next two chapters. It'll be mentally painful — that's for sure. And Hiro will face his own sort of mental trauma too o u o.

Random Reader 17: THanks for the compliments! Glad you enjoyed the trio bonding thingy. /patpathughug. Shhh. It'll be okay. I'm glad bh6 won too! /sparklesparkle. I heard that the animation in the Lego Movie was amazing. It's on my watch list.

Buttons and Horseshoes: /patpat. I hope you enjoyed the three hours of reading though! Ah, many thanks for the compliments, friend! o u o.

Shoyzz: Yup. He literally jumps out of the pool in this chapter.

Sabeloid: Yup, yup, yup, yup.

Avatar4ever: Alas, I am murdered! Here's a late-ish birthday present for one of my faves? /sparkesparkle. o u o.

Toothless lover 13: Many thanks! /sparklesparkle.

hy0rinlove:Ohhh, I can totally see you teaming up with Maeko. /thumbsup. /whispers: tell me what google says about 'blue skidoo' and 'bladed fans'! I hope this Winter Festival chapter did not disappoint. Honestly, I planned it to be more spaztastic and chaotic, but alas… I was bundled up in crunch time.. if that… makes sense? I'm glad you enjoyed the fluff! I really enjoyed writing it! o u o Ah, the fluff (and the crippling psychological torture) fuels me. AND YOURE TOTALLY RIGHT. TADASHI IS TOO PURE DAMNIT. More identity-related pain for Tadashi in the next two chapters tbh. (And w-what? But… I… /sad. /dejectedly hands you my "Protect Tadashi Hamada at all Costs" badge.) As for the Hebi thing… yeah xD. Her possessiveness has earned her lots of hate. Ah yes… the tsundereness… Tbh, instead of being called 'Team Animal', the group should be called 'Team Tsundere'. Really though. Poor, poor, Usagi. The Papa Animal…. v n v. But there's no body is there? o u o. And… as for Tako… the guy just really does not like the spotlight, so he always puts himself lower…? Inferiority complex? What? Hm. As for Hiro…. He will… suffer o u o. /shotdead. And for Maeko…. she is indeed one badass mf. And the "You remind me of my sister" thing is actually Tadashi recalling what Maya said to him in the past. I actually do that a lot throughout this story. Re-use old lines from previous chapters to draw connections — or try to — and stuff. /nodnod. And your suspicions of Doctor Long are correctomundo! He is the big bad! You're very fun to talk with… Erm… Do you possibly want to… idk… keep in touch after this story is over? /winkwonk.

Guest (1): Lmfao. I guess you ship Tomadashi is it? /sparklesparkle. Poor, poor Usagi indeed.

Alexis-senapi: Ohhh, okay! xD I was just confused is all. /patpathughug. Dont cry, friend! Be strong! And your desire for kidnapped!Hiro is understandable. Can't wait to write the scenes involving that out o u o.

AwesomeWriter2013: Uhm, nope! Usagi is not the Hamada boy's father. He's just a very fatherly figure. And Maeko Rice is Maya's sister /nodnod. She's the one that Maya was telling Tadashi about in the trial things. Hiro was kidnapped and Tadashi suffered a mental breakdown o u o. Thank you for the compliments, friend! Glad you liked the bonding scenes!

Producciones Escudo: Eek! I'm glad you liked the chapter! o u o. Hopefully this one is what you were hoping for? Ah yes, poor Hebi and Usagi v n v. Maeko will bring trouble and trauma that's for sure. Yup, yup. Your reviews always make me happy xD.

Perksofbeingminho: /patspatshughug. Sorry, friend, sorry. Thank you for the compliments, friend! o u o. And Usagi is not the Hamada brothers's father. He's more like a father figure. And yas. Hiro has been captured!

FanGirlJen: Ah sorry for the length my friend! And thank you for the compliments! You can follow tory and have it email you by clicking the follow button next to the review box. You could also favorite it too. /nodnod.

Tony 18: Wow, first off, I would like to applaud you for your wonderfully in-depth analysis. /nodnod. You're spot on about one of the themes. I actually didn't really see it until you mentioned it tbh (which is ironic 'cause it's my story); and that's amazing! Is that book by Christopher Hedges a philosophy book? Just wondering ;o. Wow. That last paragraph from Hedges book is really something. It's so true too. /clapclap. I agree with you about the embracing or rejecting the myth of Affirming Violence. Wow. /applauds you. That was amazing. Thank you for that insightful review! /sparklesparkle. And thank you for the compliments!

Guest (2): Yas, I am a true sadist. v-v. /patpathughug. I can't help it, man. I'm sorry.

TerribleTerrors: Poor, poor Usagi. Tako is a charming and sadistic character; and I kind of like him too, so I can see where you're coming from. /nodnod. And yup, next two chapters are partially focused on Tadashi remembering everything. /nodnod.

A Very Lazy Guy: v n v. /patpathughug.

RandomPersonHere: Yup, the animal characters make a return as you can see with this chapter. /sparklesparkle. Ah, I am sorry for your pain, friend! /showers you with fluffy, stuffed animals? Better? o u o? Eek. I really am sorry for your feels. And you're… somewhat of a sadist aren't you? o u o''. Scary friend!

Eboni: Many thanks for the compliments! Glad you liked the Tadashi/Kitsune thing, the feelings and reactions things, and the Aunt Cass thing! /sparklesparkle. Ah, you are too kind, friend! Once again, many thanks!

digiwriter1392: Thank you! xDD

CrazyCartoonistOtaku: EEK SORRY FRIEND I DIDNT MEAN TO! /patpathughug. Poor poor Usagi and Hebi v n v. And good thinking on the corpse thing. /winkwonk. Ah yes. Hiro's mental breakdown is to come o u o. /sparklesparkle. Thanks for the compliments!

Banana Gun: Yup, we are drawing to the close! Around five more chapters after this one! /nodnod. Here's an update for you!

Doppler Effect: Ack! I'm honored to have pulled you into the fandom! /deepbow. And I'm honored that I wrote the first bh6 fanfic that you've read too o u o. /sparklesparkle. Many thanks for the compliments!


	21. Wolf

**Fox-face and Flames**

* * *

_Twenty-first Encounter_: Ookami ( 狼)

∟ "Wolf"

* * *

The petals tumble across the still surface and perform somersaults along the water's edge. [The young man] stares at them dissonantly.

[You] have been here before.

"Well I hope you've been here before, Ponyboy. We're in your fucked up head after all."

You start and turn your head. Behind you stands a woman who has blood red hair. A woman who has no face. It's as if her eyes, mouth, and nose have been carved clean off of her face. You can't help but feel slightly disturbed at the sight of it.

"That's not very nice." The woman continues to speak with her unpresent mouth. "I certainly wouldn't expect the old you to think things like that. This either means A, you're becoming slightly less unrefined in the head, or B, you are becoming alarmingly more unrefined in the head. Pick your poison."

You try to say something — you aren't exactly sure what that something is — but you find that you cannot move your lips.

"Stop bullying him, Sierra." Comes a hiss from behind. It's a familiarly unfamiliar hiss. "Or I'll punch you."

You turn. It's a man this time. He also has no identifiable features.

"- - -, please stop…"

Neither does she.

"I would be lying if I said that that wasn't really violent…"

And neither does **she**. For a second, however, she does. For a second, you see your brother's features flicker across her carved expression. But that's impossible. There is no way your brother could be in such a distorted place like this.

You think the girl who spoke last feels your gaze on her, because she raises her head and looks at you. At least, you think she's looking at you.

"Wake up, you nerd," the girl says; and as she says this, her face suddenly becomes identifiable to you. "Your brother needs you."

Confusion.

You reach out for the girl's arm and your fingertips brush against her skin and then—-

— her skin peels against your touch. Her skin peels in shades of black and red revealing something grotesque and awful beneath. You pull back in surprise and horror and fear, but that grotesque thing grabs at your retracting arm, grips your wrist tightly with pale fingers. Its nails dig into your forearm and draw blood. The red liquid seeps from the crescent moon cuts and dribbles onto the still white lake. It doesn't hurt. You can't feel the pain. Yet, as you stare at the crimson droplets that are slowly staining the water, you feel panic ripple through your chest. If this continues, the pure whiteness is going to be stained and tainted. Again.

"If you're too weak to do it," the thing whispers with curling lips as it pulls you close, "use me."

You wake up with a blood curdling scream.

* * *

Hiro found a scream ripping through his throat as he was jolted into painful consciousness by a bucket of water to the face. The cold dampness of the liquid blurred his vision and froze his mind in a combination that inflicted a mixture of terror and confusion. By some miracle, while he was trapped in that mixture of frightened befuddlement, he was able to realize that he was cuffed to a cold metal chair.

"Wha…?"

A shape loomed out of the corner of his eye.

"This is quite nostalgic, you know, Alice? I first laid my eyes upon the true form of Fox — ah, your brother if that makes thing clearer — when he was looking just like you. Like brother like brother I suppose."

The blurs sharpened into images: a quiet dark room with tiled white walls, a metal door off to the right, dim overhead lights, and a man wearing an amused smirk.

"Y-You're…" Hiro tried, attempting to keep the shakes in his voice (Was he shaking because he was cold from the water or because he was afraid?) even.

"Tako." The smirking man smirked thinly. "Ah, yes, we've met once or twice before."

"The pleasure is all yours." Hiro spat thickly. He realized then that he was not shaking with cold nor fear. He was shaking with rage. This man standing before him was the cause of his misery, his brother's misery. This man was the man who shattered his brother to pieces.

"Quite." Tako agreed with a slight nod. "It'd be even more pleasurable if I could punish you for destroying my masterpiece, for bleaching Fox's humanity—

"S-Shut up, you tentacle porn bastard." Hiro hissed without really thinking. "Tadashi isn't yours!"

"True. He's not mine anymore." Tako sighed dispassionately, his smirk finally dropping. "But you are." With that, his smirk returned. "And I can carve up another Fox with you instead."

'Carve'. The word sent gruesome images spinning in Hiro's head. His brother chained down and whimpering, painful cuts, disemboweled bodies, and sharp red pain. Hiro began to feel something bubbling at the pit of his stomach. Nausea..? … _Fear_? He began to desperately wish that Baymax was by his side, that his friends were by his side, that his brother —-

_No, Tadashi can't go through anything like this ever again. Anyways, this was all going according to plan. Right…?_

"That's what I'd like to say at least." Tako sighed dispassionately. "Unfortunately, Sora has other plans in mind for you." He paused, then added: "Older Sora not the younger one."

"Doctor Tien Long." Hiro replied steadily, before he smirked. "Yeah, we've met. Can't say I've met his younger Sora guy or whatever."

"Well, I wouldn't think so." Tako raised a playful eyebrow. "The boy's in a coma, Alice."

"Stop calling me that." Hiro scowled darkly, internally mulling over the information he had been given. "Since you're so fond of stalking me and my brother, I'd hope that you'd at least know my name — unless you're less intelligent than I make you up to be."

Tako frowned and then grinned his strange dissonance grin: "Quite the nasty tongue on you, Alice. That wasn't very nice."

"Yeah, well," Hiro retorted, "I wasn't trying to be nice, seeing as you have me bound to a cliche metal chair in a dark room."

"'Cliche'," Tako repeated, "that's more of Snake's word isn't it?"

Hiro froze, his blood running cold. Hebi… She had been with him when Tako and the gangster had attacked them, hadn't she? Where was she? Was she okay? Had Tako…?

"The Snake is fine, if that's what you're wondering." Tako replied absentmindedly. He reached over towards Hiro's face with his fingers extended towards the adolescent's dark hair. He smiled fondly as the boy pulled away. "She was built resilient like your brother and the rest of us, after all. Another beautiful piece of work — not as beautiful as Fox was, of course."

"You're crazy." Hiro shook his head. "You're legitimately crazy."

"Aren't we all, Alice?" Tako prodded in a playful tone.

"No, I'm pretty sure you're the only crazy one in this whole thing." Hiro grimaced. "A guy who chooses to work for the people who experimented on him and tortured him? Can't get any crazier than that." Hiro paused, watching Tako's expression darken slightly, before he added: "Maybe you've got Stockholm's Syndrome or something." The word was featured prominently in the psychology textbooks Hiro had been mulling over the past few weeks.

"To have Stockholm syndrome, one would need to feel some sort of attachment for their abuser and captor. I do not. Sora is simply an associate of mine, the ink that bleeds words into this story. " Tako explained matter-of-factly. "I'm simply an observer. No, that's not right either. I guess you could say I'm the writer of this tale."

"Don't let Sora hear you say that." Hiro scoffed darkly. "He's the head of CASCO isn't he? Who knows what he'll do to you." He paused. "On second thought, go ahead and keep rambling. I want to see what happens."

"I hate to disappoint, Alice," Tako laughed lightly, "but I'm sure Sora is already very aware that I'm using him. He is just too human to care."

Hiro remained silent.

"I guess that's my cue to tell you the origins of this story, right?" Tako questioned in a rhetorical tone as he pressed a slender finger against his lips. "I'll sin against Snake again and be cliche about this."

Hiro observed Tako with narrowed eyes.

"It all started with Sora Junior." Tako started, bending low and next to Hiro's ear. "Sora Senior — Keiji, as you know him — loved him desperately. After all, Sora Junior was the only attachment Keiji had in this world. His wife had died in childbirth so that social link was gone. And Keiji had always prided himself with his detachment from the world until that point. But that's besides the point." Tako whispered such phrases into Hiro's ear; and the latter squirmed against the elder man's heated breath as it brushed against his face. "So, as you know, Sora became a successful man. A successful scientist majoring in biochemistry. A scientist who also had some experience in the business field. Ah, there's no CASCO yet at this point."

"And there's no concept of personal space either." Hiro muttered despite himself.

"And then misfortune struck." Tako continued, pulling away from the adolescent. "Unfortunately for the Soras, Sora Junior came down with a chronic illness. No cure. He just got worse and worse and Keiji's mental health followed in those footsteps." Tako paused, flourishing his hand dramatically. "'What's the point of living if the one thing I live for will just disappear in the blink of an eye? Other people don't matter — only me and him do. If he doesn't exist, the world doesn't exist… so it's only natural that the world would work to save him, isn't that right?' And by world, I do mean people, Alice. And thus CASCO was created to find a cure through the Doubutsu Experiments. A way to immortality, a way to become unafflicted by mankind's worst diseases."

So that was it. Sora Keiji was willing to sacrifice the entire world just to find a cure for his son. Hiro wondered whether that was selfish or selfless. Either way, it disgusted him. But… not too long ago, hadn't he also been willing to sacrifice everything and anything in the same way? The thought made Hiro's stomach twist. That fact was besides the point. This Sora Keiji person, this Doctor Tien Long —- Hiro would make the man answer for what he'd done.

"Such pure humanity intrigues me." Tako smiled dissonantly. "So, I stayed. And then I saw your brother, and then I saw…" His eyes narrowed yet his smile remained constant. "You."

"Really wish you hadn't…" Hiro muttered.

"You're the endgame, Alice." Tako clasped his hands together. "Will you become a true animal and paint a beautiful story? Or will you reach the climax and end up like a failure like your brother?"

First confusion. Then alarm. And then fear and nausea. And finally pure uncontainable rage.

"Shut your mouth!" Hiro hissed. "Don't you dare talk about Tadashi like that!" He clenched his fists, felt his nails dig into his palm. "You don't know anything."

"Do you know why members of the Doubutsu experiment were given animal code names?" Tako asked lightly, ignoring Hiro's rage.

Hiro once again did not reply. He simply clenched his teeth tightly together and lowered his burning gaze.

"They were given animal code names because in the middle of all that chaos — all that confusion — they were able to become what they truly were. Animals." Tako twirled around Hiro's chair and stopped short right in front of him. He bowed down, gripping the arms of the chair, and pulled the adolescent close.

Hiro swore his heart stopped beating then and there. He could feel the older man's eyes prodding into his skin, and his skin prickled uncomfortably in turn. What was this psycho searching for? Hiro just wanted the man to leave so he could figure out a way to escape, a way to find Keiji, and a way to take this whole thing down.

"You might as well join the tradition, don't you think, Alice?"

The adolescent paused.

"After all, you're going to be the last participant in the Doubutsu Project." Tako explained.

_So I was right_, Hiro thought pensively. His throat suddenly felt dry and his head light. The image of raining needles entered his mind. _That's not going to happen. I'll stop this before that happens._

"That," Tako continued, studying Hiro carefully, "and I realize now that you've already become an animal."

Hiro scoffed despite himself.

"Can you guess what kind of animal you are, Hiro?" Tako questioned quietly, his dark eyes pooling into Hiro's own.

"What? Don't tell me. A squirrel?" Hiro grimaced.

"You are human, Hiro." Tako whispered. "The deadliest animal of them all."

* * *

Tadashi awoke with a scream ripping through his throat. Blurry shapes, startled by his shout, shifted around him. Enemies. Survive. He hissed, snarled, clawed at the unidentifiable, at anything that moved—

—and then sinewy arms wrapped around his torso and a hand shifted through his matted hair.

"Tadashi, it is suggested that you take deep and slow breaths. You may accidentally trigger hyperventilation if you do not even your breathing."

The odd mechanical voice seemed unreal in the blurriness of the world around him. Was it even real — the voice? Was any of this even real?

His mind suddenly went back to the dream — or was it the memory? — of the clear white pond, the pond that was slowly becoming stained red. His mind went back to the grotesque figure that resided there. The grotesque figure who wore his face.

"Am I even real?"

The arms that were wrapped around him tightened.

"Honey, of course you are…"

…

Cassandra Hamada sat on the white bed at the center of the crowded room cradling her eldest nephew in her arms. Despite the perilous situation, she felt a tingle of nostalgia twinge inside of her chest. She had cradled Tadashi and Hiro just like this not too long ago. Actually, now that she thought about it, it was quite a long time ago.

Hiro…

Her heart fluttered, her mind swam, and she wrapped her arms tighter around Tadashi's tense form.

"Baymax," she whispered, glancing up at the robot who stood by the bedpost beside her, "is he going to be alright?"

"Although his heart rate is unusually high," Baymax informed her in a calm and even tone, "all of his vitals are stabled. He only suffered from a minor concussion."

Cass winced, recalling how she had smacked Tadashi over the head with a metal pipe only hours before. She then recalled his dark and murderous expression the instant before she had cracked down on him; and she frowned in turn.

"Aunt Cass…?"

Tadashi stirred in her arms, craned his neck, and blinked up at her in confusion.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Cass opened her mouth in surprise and then closed it. Did he not remember? It wouldn't surprising, seeing how he had forgotten everything twice in a row now. She paused, her gaze darkening as she recalled the things Gogo had informed her of. She had told the young woman not to sugar-coat anything and boy did she not sugar-coat anything. Kitsune, Project Doubutsu, CASCO, and the Big Hero Six. At this point, drowning in all of this information, Cass wasn't sure how she felt. Angry? Worried? Scared for her two nephews? Frustrated at herself for not noticing all of this sooner? How could she let her eldest nephew — her _son_ —- become like this? How could she let her youngest son get stolen away from her right under her nose?

…

Tadashi observed his silent Aunt worriedly, before his eyes caught onto the four other figures standing in the room. One of the figures was Baymax, his reliable nursing companion, his prized invention, his friend, who stood by his bedpost. The second figure was Gogo in the flesh. She was dressed in a strangely familiar yet odd yellow suit and was standing by the bedpost as well. The two other figures stood in opposite corners of the room. Tadashi only recognized one of these figures — cropped black hair, pale lids from which heavy lashes sprouted. Maeko Rice. She was studying him with a blank expression, and it unnerved him for some reason. And the final figure? Tadashi knew for sure they he had never seen the stern crossed-armed dark-haired woman in his life, yet he felt a pang of nostalgia as he observed her.

His eyes danced around the room, and he took note of his surroundings. He was sitting in a small white bed. That much was clear. Stationary medical equipment was set up on his left, and to his right was a metal table. Resting on the metal table was a black fox-like mask. Right... He had gotten the mask at the festival. The festival...

"You got a concussion, Hamada boy," Gogo informed him as she crossed her arms. "We're in Mizuki Clinic right now." She paused, side-glancing with narrowed eyes at the older woman whom Tadashi didn't recognize. "San Fransokyo General is shut down for some reason right now. The clinic is being used as a substitute."

"Oh… right." Tadashi frowned. He glanced around the room. Maybe he could lend a hand to the clinic staff?

"Don't even think about it, young man." Aunt Cass frowned darkly and threateningly at him. "You need to rest right now. Take care of yourself before you take care of others."

Tadashi winced at the scolding and murmured a quiet "Yes, Aunt Cass". It was then that he finally felt the full heat from the gaze of the woman he didn't recognize. He turned his head slowly in her direction and flashed her a quiet smile. Her eyes widened in response and her face twisted.

"Are…" Tadashi tried as he observed her expression. "Are you oka—-"

And she was on him in a blur of black just like that. Aunt Cass was ripped from him and thrown to the side against the wall like a ragdoll. Tadashi barely had the time to shout his aunt's name, before he was grabbed by the scruff by the unknown woman. He struggled against her grasp in surprise and winced as her nails dug into his skin.

"Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare say that after you led Hitsuji to his death! Don't you dare say that after Usagi's disappeared!"

"I… I... " Tadashi shook his head uncomprehendingly. Each spoken name drilled a needle of pain into his skull; and as he stared into the woman's dark brown _anguished_ eyes, the pain increased ten-fold. Shaking this pulsing pain off, he evened his breathing and gently raised his hands to touch the woman's shaking arms. "I… I'm sorry."

The woman paused, her eyes widening once more and her expression twisting yet again.

"I can't believe Hebi, Usagi, and Neko found you like this... And said nothing to me." Ookami whispered, gazing at Tadashi as if she was certain that he was a mirage.

"Ookami, let go of him!" Came Gogo's husky shout.

And the woman — Ookami — was torn away from Tadashi's bedside. Gogo lifted the woman up by the scruff and gazed at her evenly. While this was occurring, Tadashi quickly hopped out of his bed and aided Aunt Cass back up to her feet.

"We have more problems than that right now." Gogo murmured to Ookami steadily. Ookami glared at her, glanced at Tadashi, observed his actions, and then averted her gaze.

"Yes," Ookami replied steadily, gesturing towards Tadashi without actually acknowledging him, "and this is one of them."

"Will someone _please_ tell me what's going on?" Tadashi murmured.

The two conversing women paused, glancing at him. After a moment of silence, Ookami nodded in Gogo's direction as if prodding her to speak. The latter sighed and rubbed the back of her dark head before grimacing.

"Look, Hamada Boy, I'm sorry but I'm going to keep this short, blunt, and simple." Gogo sighed, approaching him slowly. "Your brother, me, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, Baymax, and Fred are part of the Big Hero Six—"

"Wait." Tadashi did a double-take. "Wait. What?"

"We're superheroes." Gogo continued. "And a couple months back we were investigating some murders that had to do with this company called CASCO."

"Wait. Backtrack for a minute, Gogo." Tadashi shook his head. "Y-You're telling me that my brother, my robot, and my friends are part of the Big Hero Six?!"

"Yeah, that's what I said." Gogo rolled her eyes. "Anyways, while we were investigating CASCO—

"Hiro is so dead!" Tadashi hissed, before he paused and pointed an accusatory finger in Gogo's direction. "And how could you guys just go off and do that?! Don't you know how dangerous that is?!"

"We were investigating CASCO," Gogo continued, ignoring him, "and learned about this Doubutsu Project that CASCO was funding. It involved human experiments."

"Human experiments…?" Tadashi blinked, side-tracked by the sudden change of pace and suddenly feeling nauseous.

"You…" Gogo paused, averting her eyes. "You were part of the experiments too, Tadashi."

"Huh…?"

"You just forgot about it." Gogo muttered, placing a hand on her hips. "You called yourself Kitsune and back then you didn't remember anything past the Doubutsu trials. You didn't recognize Hiro or any of us."

"Wait…" Tadashi shook his head as a dizzying sensation overwhelmed him. "Can you slow down a minute…?"

_I told you you were too weak._

Tadashi froze at the quiet voice that whispered at the back of his mind.

"Tadashi," Gogo sighed, approaching the young man and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "they have Hiro."

And just like that, the dizziness that had consumed him was shattered by sheer horror and panic.

"What?!" Tadashi exclaimed, placing his hands on his friend's shoulder and shaking her roughly. "What do you mean they have Hiro?!" He paused, realizing his violent actions, and forced himself to release his friend from his iron grip. He held his hammering head and glanced around the room wildly.

"Fred, Wasabi, and Honey Lemon are already on it." Gogo explained to him in a calm and even tone. She paused, side glancing at Ookami, before she continued. "The animal group is on it too. They're all checking out San Fransokyo General. Baymax's scanner's last picked up his signals there. The two of us are gonna head there in a few."

Aunt Cass bit her lip and clenched her fists. How could she be so useless in this situation?

"Hiro…" Tadashi shook his head. "I-I have to save Hiro. Please, let me go with you—

"The way you are now," Ookami spoke suddenly, observing him closely, "you can't. You'll just be problematic."

"He's my brother!" Tadashi whispered, shaking his head. "Please, I can help—"

"Tadashi…" Gogo frowned lightly, placing a hand on his shoulder again. "She's right… Right now," she paused, staring into his eyes steadily, "you're not well, Tadashi. You'd only get hurt."

Tadashi shook his head.

_You're going to get hurt if you go out there too. Hiro is going to get hurt too—_

—- all of these unspoken thoughts swam in Tadashi's mind, but they were overwhelmed by another onslaught of thoughts that seemed like they were not his own:

_**You're too weak. Switch places with me.**_

None of this made sense to Tadashi, yet at the same time it couldn't make anymore sense.

"Tadashi." Gogo tried once more, her grip on his shoulder tightening. "It's alright. We'll find Hiro for you."

"Tadashi." Aunt Cass drew from behind him.

He turned his head and found his aunt gazing at him calmly yet seriously.

"You need to stay here."

_No._

"We're heading out now." Gogo murmured, removing her hand from his shoulder. She walked over to the corner of the room where a wooden table rested and picked the yellow helmet that rested on top of it off of it. "We'll be back." WIth that phrase hanging in the air, she fixed the helmet onto of her head and exited the room in a blur of yellow.

Ookami lingered for a moment longer. Her narrowed eyes ran along Tadashi's features, Tadashi's expression. It was an expression she had never seen on the man before. An anguished, distraught, helpless expression. Seeing him wearing such a thing made her feel uncomfortable. She wanted to smack it right off of him. It didn't suit him at all. How could he wear such a thing after he stolidly sent Hitsuji to his death? Hitsuji had just been a _kid_. And… at that moment, Ookami came to a realization. Kitsune had just been a kid too.

"Damnit," she muttered darkly, turning on her heels towards the doorway. "I can't stand you like this."

And she exited the room without another word.

Tadashi stared in utter disbelief at the swinging doorway that had just swallowed up one of his best friends and an apparent acquaintance of his.

"Hiro…"

"Tadashi," came Baymax's soothing voice, "please rest. You are experiencing an alarmingly high level of stress."

_Hiro. His Hiro was in danger. Maya… Maya was too. Wait… Maya? Maeko. Maya?_

Tadashi's head swam in confusion. His legs buckled uselessly beneath him, and he slid to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. He gripped his buzzing head as the voice that was yet was not his own whispered to him at the back of his mind.

_**Ta-da-shi. Can you really handle all of this? You'll be lying if you say yes. I mean, you've seen me, haven't you. You've seen how I am, haven't you. How you are.**_

He felt the thing creep up behind him, felt the thing wrap its pale fingers around his neck. He was choking. He couldn't breathe. The world around him became dotted in red. Red flowers.

_**It's too late to go back to how things were. You can only move forward now. You can only survive and keep that promise. You know that you can only do those things through me, right? It's the logical thing to do.**_

"Tadashi, look at me, sweetie!"

A far off echo.

"You need to calm down!"

"Tadashi, I advise for you to take deep and calm breaths."

_**Stop wasting time. Stop being a complication. Stop being weak. Stop existing. **_

"... Maeko? What… What are you doing…?"

_**Tadashi Hamada, become [me] again.**_

A soft clicking sound emanated through the air. The grotesque thing was gone (?); and in its place was his aunt who was holding him tightly and tensely. A shadow was shrouding him in darkness. Maya… No, Maeko's shadow. He raised his eyes in her direction and came face-to-face with the nose of a small gun. He wasn't surprised.

"You killed my sister."

It was an accusation. It was a fact. And it was stated as calmly as such.

"And? Are you going to shoot me?"

Maeko's dark eyes narrowed.

"Kitsune." She stated the fact just as calmly, her finger drifting towards the trigger.

* * *

At the center of the city, three adults gathered together in the corner of a ruddy shack and hovered over a single device.

"Well, Robert," one of the three muttered, "it was a pleasure working with you again."

A grunt was the response.

"Dad…" The third of the trio murmured. The third's eyes were narrowed. "What are you going to do with this?"

"Hopefully…" Robert responded in a tired tone as he rubbed his eyes. "Hopefully this will do what Hiro wanted it to do - fix things."

* * *

Next Chapter: Ningen (人間)

∟ "Humans"

"'_Dios mio… Are those things supposed to be human?'_

…

_Hiro observed the sleeping boy with stolidness._

"_So… you're the one who started all of this, huh, Sora Junior?"_

…

"_Please, Hiro," Sora Keiji gazed at Hiro with sorrow. "Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same for your brother. I've looked into your personal history, Hiro. Your brother - he meant everything to you, didn't he? You'd do anything for him. I understand that, Hiro. That's why I gave your brother freedom. So, please, in exchange… Give my son freedom."_

_Hiro gazed at Sora and then down at the needle filled to the brim with clear liquid held in his hands._

…

"_Dude, this is just like some trippy Resident Evil mash-up."_

…

_**So, are you going to accept me now, Tadashi? I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't devour what little is left of you.**_

…

_A sickening crunch filled the air followed by the heavy scent of iron._

'_**Fred**__!'"_

* * *

**A/N: **Huzzah! I am alive! Kind of. Sorry for not updating these past two minutes and sorry for the short-ish chapter as well. I've been overwhelmed with my AP exams and graduation stuff, but all of that stuff is over now.. except for the graduation part but meh. I also have one regular exam tomorrow so also meh. After this though, my updating schedule should be back to normal… Hopefully.

Thank you to all those who stuck by, read, followed, favorited, and reviewed! So many this time! (Probably because I haven't updated in two months. Sorry about that still… u n u) Sorry for not responding to all of the reviews this time as well. I read every single one of them and appreciated all of them very much. I'll respond to the next ones, I promise!


	22. Human

**Fox-face and Flames**

_Twenty-second Encounter:_ Ningen (人間)

∟"Human"

* * *

Hiro continued to stare at the metal door to his right long after Tako had disappeared behind it. The man's words left a distasteful feeling in his stomach. Him? Human? Well, duh. Why did the man state the obvious?

Trying his best to shrug the man's comment off nonchalantly, Hiro wiggled his left arm in its bindings and managed to slip his arm several inches forward. Using this small leverage and extension, he stretched out his fingers towards a fold in his yukata.

"Come on…" He grumbled, biting his lips. "I know my arms aren't _that_ stubby."

His fingers slid into the yukata fold which earned a gracing smile on his face. Smirking to himself, he plucked a slender cylindrical object from that fold and held it as high as he could in the air.

Click.

He clicked the button at the bottom of the cylinder and watched its tip lit up with red.

Laser beam on.

With a quick flick of his wrist, he sliced his bindings cleanly in half. He then slid off of what he now deemed the 'death-torture-angst' chair and walked towards the door which Tako had disappeared behind. He rubbed his aching wrists and pressed his ear to its frame.

Silence.

Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob and pushed it open.

An empty hallway.

Hiro wasn't sure whether he was relieved or disappointed.

Stepping out into the darkness quietly, Hiro tentatively looked around. Surveyed the doors that lined the hall. Read the plaques and signs that designated which room was which. And then he saw it. The name. The name that belonged to the man who started this entire mess, who ruined so many lives, who hurt his brother.

Shining on a golden plate on a metal door that stood right in front of Hiro was the name "Sora Keiji".

* * *

"Man, I don't think I've ever seen a hospital as unwelcoming as that one." Wasabi shook his head in disbelief.

The lights of the building in question were not existent. Not a single flicker came out through the numerous drawn windows; not a single emergency light even sparked. The building itself loomed like a monolith shrouded in an aura of darkness.

"Shit man." One of the many that stood behind him coughed. "Are we really going in there? Like, are we the stupid teenagers that go like 'har har, look at that dangerous-looking building that probably has a thousand vengeful spirits inside of it; let's go in!' and get slaughtered by some inane spiritual fucksprit?"

"Language." Wasabi clipped, despite himself.

"If that's the case." Taka flashed a grin. "Count me in."

"Dude," Fred grinned ear to ear, "this is like super hero team up version two!"

"Yeah…" Came a scoff from none other than Hebi herself. "Like that worked so well the first time."

"Says the doll who went out on a little picnic date with Little Kit without even tellin' a single stray cat."

Hebi's face went red at Neko's comment. She opened her mouth to retort but was interrupted —

"Let's just hurry up and rescue Hiro." Gogo brushed the girl off as she stepped forward and scanned the perimeter.

"I agree." Ookami nodded beside her coolly. "We need to take down Sora quickly."

"Rescue Hiro you mean." Gogo glanced at her darkly.

Ookami stared at her for a moment before she nodded. "We will rescue Hiro Hamada."

"This. Is such a clusterfuck." Taka clapped to himself. "Only if our grand conspiracy detective theorist was here to make it even more of a clusterfuck. Where is that guy anyways?"

"So…" Wasabi muttered slowly, ignoring Taka's comment. "What's the plan…?"

"We need to take this slowly." Ookami murmured thoughtfully, calculatingly. "Find where we need to enter.. how to—"

"You know," Taka interjected, "I was really hoping to go about this whole thing Boondock Saints style… Y'know guns blazing and all that stuff."

"Dude, Taka knows where it's at!" Fred nodded furiously.

"How about no." Gogo frowned.

"Charging in 'guns blazing'," Honey Lemon smiled hesitantly,"would be… a really… terrible idea."

"Everyone, shut up!" Hebi groaned, covering her ears. And then—

—there was silence. Hebi was certainly surprised that her words had such an effect. She uncovered her ears and glanced up at the large group surrounding her. She frowned when she found that their gazes were not trained her. Their gazes rather were trained on the hospital building. The hospital building's entrance.

"Dios mio…" Honey Lemon whispered in horror. "Are those things supposed to be humans…?"

* * *

_You are here again in the abyss of white that is slowly becoming stained crimson. The white roses that are scattered around your feet are wilting. You expected as much._

_"Why?"_

_It's a quiet, sad whisper from behind you. What's with all of these people popping up behind you? Turning slowly, you come face-to-face with not a blank-faced woman but a woman with a mournful expression. You know her._

_"Yeah…" the woman murmurs quietly, rubbing her slender fingers across her wrists. "Yeah, you do…"_

_You frown, your eyebrows furrowing together. She's so familiar… She reminds you of…_

_"A butterfly..." You mutter aloud. Your eyes widen. Images, light and feathery, drift through your mind. Rooftops, faintness, soliloquy, gentleness, humble hesitation."Chocho?"_

_"That's right…" The woman mumbled, lowering her eyes to the floor._

_Images of red streaks, like the red that is slowly diluting the water beneath you red, slice through your mind. You wince in pain. Your body aches. No, your heart aches. It feels like it's being crushed in an iron grip. You remember now — vaguely at least. You remember the feeling of losing something, of being unable to do anything. You couldn't save her._

_"You…" You shake your head and clench your fists. "You…"_

_"Killed myself?" Chocho questions bluntly, rubbing her wrists again. "Yeah…" She pauses, glances up at you. "Looks like we have something in common… That and our love of heights."_

_For a moment, you're confused at her statement. And then comes the flashes of the night city scape, the wind tousling your hair, and the echoing distance of the city below._

_"Thank you for that." She says suddenly, abruptly. A rare smile graces her features. The smile hurts you._

_"I...I'm so sorry." You whisper, taking a step forward. "I am so, so sorry."_

_"I know you are." She continues to smile. "But, I have no idea why…"_

_You pause, confused. A white rose disintegrates beneath your feet._

_"We are all responsible for own actions and decisions." Chocho murmurs. "What… What I did had nothing to do with you."_

_"But I could have saved you!" You protest,_

_"Maybe," she murmurs, pondering and tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, "and maybe in some alternate universe, you did. And that's fine."_

_'That's fine?' How could it be?_

_"What's happened has happened. You can't change that fact." She continues, taking a step towards you. She pauses, takes another step forward, wraps her hands around your unscarred hand. "So you need to accept that. Let it go and move forward. If you let yourself be chained down by the things that happened in the past, you can't move forward. And if that's the case, you aren't really living." She pauses, her eyes softening. "Really living… Really living is beautiful."_

_You know somewhere deep inside that she — the mirage that is inside your mind — is somehow talking from experience._

_"Chocho…" Your eyes soften._

_"Have you accepted it yet…?"_

_You're not sure if you have. You're not sure what you're supposed to be letting go of. Your mind is too muddled and heavy to think through those complicated things. Even though all of those things hold true, you feel the suffocating grip on your heart loosen._

_The white sky begins to crack above you._

_Chocho tilts her head upwards and smiles faintly again. This time, the smiles does not hurt you. You do feel a pang of sadness, however, as you register the fact that her entire body is becoming faint and almost invisible. You are afraid that if you move even slightly, she will crumble to dust and blow away in the wind.._

_'Let go and move forward.'_

_Your eyes widen._

_Smiling faintly as she had, you allow the sorrow to spread from your heart to the rest of your body. And with a sorrow-filled hand, you cup her cheek. She freezes in surprise; and for a moment, you think she is going to pull away again — just like when you first met her. Instead, she tilts her head up — like a flower — and offers you a grand smile. You can tell that she's smiling with all of her might._

_"Thank you, Chocho."_

_And then—_

_— she begins to crack. The hairline fractures, stretching out from her smile, run along her face, along her entire body. She does not show surprise, however; and neither do you._

_"You know..." she says suddenly; her eyes are wet, and so are yours._

_And then a frigid, chilling wind sweeps through the area. The wind rips white rose petals from the flowerbeds and then entangles it fingers around Chocho's form. It squeezes. She shatters. She shatters into flower petals that are carried off by the wind._

_"...I really wish I could have lived some more."_

_In your hand that she had gripped ever so lightly rests a flower. A hibiscus. You vaguely remember someone telling you that hibisci mean 'gentle' in the language of flowers._

* * *

Hiro entered Sora Keji's office slowly and carefully. His ears were pounding, as was his heart. He prayed to god that his breathing wasn't as loud as the thundering in his ears.

The room was shrouded in darkness. What little light that graced the room came in from the slits in the drawn blinds to the very back of the room. In front of these blinds rested a desk and on that desk rested a slender laptop. The bookcases that rose from the left and right of the desk seem to blanket the laptop with an of protection.

"Well…" Hiro raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "I wonder if I should invade his personal privacy?"

Without skipping a beat, the adolescent slinked over the to the table and clicked open the laptop.

PASSWORD REQUIRED.

The letters flashed bright red on the screen.

Hiro rolled his eyes.

"You've gotta be kidding me."

He cracked his fingers and smirked.

* * *

_You stare at the pink hibiscus in your hands curiously. You twirl its stem in between your fingertips. It seems to glow in the diluted whiteness around you._

_"You should be happy that she gave you that." Comes a deep and husky from behind you. "I wouldn't have."_

_A name dances on the tip of your tongue as you turn and greet your next attender. You remember the color deep red as you study the large man that stands before you. It's not deep red like blood, but deep red like rage. You also remember the acrid scent of smoke. Cigarette smoke._

_"K…" You frown, your eyebrows furrowing as you try to recall the word. "K…"_

_"Kai." The man finishes for you. He looks miffed and aggravated. "It'd be nice if you'd remember my name at least after you let me die."_

_The antagonist tone is like a scalding slap to the face. You remember the feeling of betrayal, the feeling of anguish. You remember the anger that was directed towards you from this man._

_'Let it go'_

_You take a deep breath and exhale._

_"I'm sorry." You say firmly, staring at him square in the eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't save any—-_

_"'I'm sorry. I'm sorry'." Kai spits out. "Is that all you can say?"_

_You stare at him incredulously. You swallow an 'I'm sorry' as it begins to rise in your throat. You know he — this mirage inside of your mind — has every right to be angry with you. You feel Kai's gaze smothering you in heat._

_"Stop saying 'I'm sorry' and do something about it." The man finally sighs. His voice is calm, but as soon as he sees that you are studying him curiously, he scowls again. "Stop looking at me like that."_

_You rub your neck awkwardly. He's as bossy as you remember him to be._

_"I heard that you know." Kai mutters, looking miffed. "Stop hiding your thoughts away like that. The true ones, I mean. There's no point in hiding your true thoughts from people. Sure it might hurt them, but it'll be worse for them if you bite your tongue. Look what happened to us."_

_You wince._

_Kai sees your wince and grumbles._

_"Look," he ruffles his dark hair, "I'm not good with these kinds of things, but what I'm trying to say is—_

_You extend your unscarred hand out to him, cutting him off short. More cracks appear along the white sky. A chunk of the whiteness falls out and crashes into the water off in the distance. There is a faint splashing sound._

_"Thanks, Kai." You smile._

_He looks at you, grimaces._

_"Yeah, well," he grumbles, reaching out to take your hand, "no problem… I'm still pissed off with you though."_

_"Yeah, I know." You nod, still smiling. "You might want to work on your anger management problems."_

_Kai stares at you incredulously. And then—_

_— he laughs. His laugh is loud and echoing. It shakes your entire diluted white world to its core. More chunks of white fall from the sky._

_"It's really too late for that one." Kai sighs. "Chocho really must have rubbed off on you..."_

_You wonder if that's true. Maybe you've always been like this underneath everything._

_"Maybe." Kai grumbles. "But you need to work that out yourself." His grip tightens on your hand. "Do that later though. You need to be smart and work on your current problem here."_

_"Got it." You nod._

_There is a pause of silence. Kai's grip on your hand once again tightens. Anger? Resentment? Forlornness? Regret?_

_"... See you, then."_

_And without a warning, his body cracks and crumbles just like Chocho's body had. Your eyes widen slightly this time, but before you can do anything the chilling wind blows his body out of existence._

_"Thanks for the smokes."_

_In your hand that he had shaken is a flower. Passiflora. Passion flower._

* * *

Hiro frowned as he skimmed through the data files of patient logs, medical bills, and staff attendance rates. Nothing of much importance of significant—-

Keiji Keshiki. Updated 20X5

Without even skipping a beat, Hiro moved the cursor over and clicked the link on the log.

Almost instantaneously the profile of a young boy — perhaps the same age as Hiro himself — popped up on the screen. And as Hiro scanned the boy's log, he found something twist in his heart. This kid… This kid… This kid was the start of it all?

He clenched his fists and continued scanning the log.

"Room number… Room number..." He murmured to himself, before his eyes locked onto what he was searching for. "Room number!"

And he was out of the room and slinking down the hall only seconds after.

* * *

_"You're making sentimental goodbyes even though it doesn't make sense in your current situation."_

_You pause at the nostalgic, monotone voice. Your heart constricts. You feel like you're about to cry. But... You aren't sure why._

_"You haven't changed."_

_A young man stands before you. His hair is dark and his eyes are a poisonous green that is slowly injecting itself into your heart. (Injecting? No. Stop. Please.) He appears stiff, uncomfortable. His eyes are dead as is his expression. For a moment, you feel as if you're looking into a mirror. A mirror into the past._

_"You don't remember me." There is hurt in the young man's voice as he says the phrase. Bitterness. It's a statement, a fact. "This causes complications."_

_"You hate complications." You find yourself saying, before you shake your head. "I do too..."_

_There is a pause of silence._

_"You didn't before."_

_There. You hear that bitterness in his voice again. It's so strange — hearing his voice spike with emotion like that._

_"I don't do a lot of things that I did before." You laugh._

_The young man does not mirror your laugh. His face is stony. You wonder what has caused him to act in such a way. And suddenly, just like that, a phrase leaps into your mind—_

_— "live your life out for us". Live for us._

_"I didn't think that you'd take me literally."_

_For a moment, a horrifying set of image flashes before your eyes. You(?) are cradling the young man in yours arm in a hall that reminds you of the lake you are currently standing on — pure white that is slowly being stained red. He is dying. No. He is dead._

_The world around you doesn't seem real. How can it be? The sky is falling apart above you._

_But, for some reason this fact doesn't seem to scare you. This beautiful world is… just an illusion anyways. Reality isn't as pure, as white, as this is._

_"Metaphors are hard distinguish from literal things in a life or death situation, you know, Knives."_

_You say such a thing with a smile._

_And as you utter his name, the young man, finally, finally, finally mirrors your smile. And it's such a beautiful, beautiful smile. So full of life. Such a contradiction—_

_— but contradictions are okay, right?_

_"What are you going to do after this?" Knives asks. And his voice is so full of emotion, inquiry, curiosity, worry, hope, wonderful. And that too is beautiful. Beautiful, not weak._

_"Let's just say I have a list of things."_

_The young man takes a step forward, takes your hands in his, takes your eyes in with his. His serious, vibrant green eyes._

_"I recommend that you keep the complications to a minimum." He says._

_"No need to worry." You reassure him. "I'm pretty sure I've got that part down."_

_He stares at you. Blinks once, twice. You realize that he is tracing your face with his eyes. Trying to soak up as much detail as possible. Trying to soak up as much detail as possible before he…_

_"And one last thing," Knives states slowly, carefully; his lips curve upwards once more, "live for yourself, understood?"_

_You pause and a realization dawns on you—_

_"That's what I've been doing all along."_

_Unselfishly living selfishly. But such a contradiction is certainly allowed._

_And as you come to this realization, a chilling wind rips through the area once more. Your eyes widen and your eyes latch onto Knives's smiling face. A face — even though it is cracking in several places, even though it is about to shatter right out of existence — that is bright and full of life. A face that is drawing closer to yours._

_Closer. Closer._

_Lips press against your cheek._

_And then nothing. There is nothing_

_Nothing but a pretty five-petaled pink flower that now rests in your palm amongst the other two flowers._

_An azalea._

_Temperance._

_And as you stare at it, you can't help but think it complements the brilliant blue sky that unfolds above you so well._

* * *

Hiro didn't quite understand why the building was built in such a way that literally every single floor looked the same. What was the point? What was the advantage? There was literally none whatsoever!

If only he had Baymax with him…

No, he had left Baymax with his brother so that the former would be able to take care of and watch over the latter.

He had to do this himself.

The doors passed him by and counted upwards steadily.

Almost there…

456…

457…

There.

Hiro skidded to a stop right in front of door 458. He read the nameplate slotted right next to the door.

Yes, this room was definitely the one.

Without a drop of hesitation, Hiro reached for the doorknob, turned it with full force, and swung the door open.

Darkness waited for him inside the room. Darkness and silence—

— no, not silence. As Hiro tunned his ears, he could hear the steady monotone beep of a heart monitor. He had become accustomed to the sound due to the long nights he had spent in his brother's hospital ward. Holding his breath, Hiro drifted towards the sound until he ungracefully collided with the steel frame of a bed.

"Mnnnf!"

He swallowed his scream and focused his attention on the occupant of the bed. The occupant was a young boy who — shrouded in darkness and thin blankets — slept quietly. The boy was pale, almost deathly pale. And his small chest seemed to rise and fall with great difficulty.

Hiro observed the sleeping boy with stolidness.

"So… you're the one who started all of this, huh?"

Hiro wasn't sure how to proceed. Hold the poor boy hostage? No, that'd be a terrible thing to do but morally and common sense wise. What would his brother do in this situation…?

"Hiro Hamada, am I right?"

At the sound of the voice, Hiro started and turned.

There were many words to describe the emotions what Hiro felt as he laid his eyes on the person who stood behind him. Surprise, panic, anticipation, fear, anger. Mostly just pure surprise and anticipation. He was surprised at himself for not feeling pure rage as he laid his eyes on the person, on the man whom he had come to know as Doctor Long Tien, on Sora Keiji.

* * *

_"My, my, my, what kind of false conclusion is this coming too?"_

_You know that voice oh so well. The voice that whispers at the very back of your mind. The voice that tells you to not to be unselfishly selfish but to simply be selfish._

_"Don't tell me, you're going to live your life delusionally again? Pretend that this world is worth saving? Throwing yourself into the flame?"_

_You turn your head. And your eyes widen._

_A flash of red hair, red like blood. White smile. Hungry smile._

_"Look at where your ignorant kindness has gotten you."_

_Your blood runs cold. Your chest feels cold. It's as if you're back there again. Pinned against the wall. Tied to the chair. Hopeless. Weak?_

_Out of the corner of your eye you see her drift towards you. Sierra._

_She raises her pale hand out towards you. Like she is about to cup your cheek. Like she is going to grab your wrist in drag you back down beneath the surface again._

_"Don't tell me that you planned to get your dear otouto back without hurting anyone? Do you want to get hurt instead again?"_

_She asks you these questions in a cooing, sickeningly sweet voice. She asks you these questions as her fingers gently touch your cheek._

_"Didn't you already learn your lesson, my dear Kitsune?"_

_Kitsune. Needles. Pain. Loss._

_Your knees buckle and you slide to the floor? the sky? helplessly._

_Your mind swirls, your stomach flip flops, your heart aches. You are sure that soon you will loose your grip on… everything… but then —-_

_"Sierra, leave him alone!"_

_For a moment you are confused. You are confused because when you search for the source of the voice you find yourself staring at someone who reminds you of your little brother. But that is impossible because your brother is in a far off place somewhere… And the person who said such a thing is—_

_— a long rope of black hair, long lashes which sprouted pale, heavy lids like cropped grass —_

_— the red-stained glass that you hold in your hands fits perfectly into the gaping red gash in her neck—-_

_—dead. You killed her._

_You took someone's precious life. You took so many precious lives. So, so many. You will never be able to make up for all the lives you have taken._

_And suddenly a shadow falls over your huddling form and Sierra pulls away. The woman's cold fingertips on your cheek are replaced by a warm and… protective embrace that engulfs your entire body._

_The dead girl — as she hugs you oh so tightly, as she runs her fingers through your hair just like your mom used to do — glowers darkly at the smirking woman._

_"This is his decision, Sierra."_

_Such a strange situation. Aren't you usually doing the comforting? Aren't you supposed to be comforting this girl — this girl whose name you can't recall?_

_"I'm trying to help him logic it out."_

_The woman called Sierra says such a thing as she offers up a shrug. She then says,_

_"I could say the same to you. Aren't you interfering too? Ah, how pathetic."_

_The word 'pathetic' rings out in your ears._

_"It's so pathetic how he needs a memory to protect him from the truth. It's so weak."_

_The dead girl — god why can't you remember her name? After all she's done for you…? What… What has she done for you…? — tightens her hold around you. Her eyes narrow, her lips part, and—_

_— you find yourself speaking instead:_

_"What's so weak about relying on other people?"_

_Sierra turns her head at your question._

_"Did you really just ask that?" She laughs. And she laughs. And she laughs. And laughs. Her cold laugh rings out in the cold air like a haunting tune. "When you can't do something, you rely on other people. That's a weakness in itself. Besides, people will just disappoint you end. Look at what happened with Callaghan, Kitsune!"_

_You and the girl stare at her blankly._

_"So not only is relying on other people weak, it's also stupid!" Sierra continues. "You know that humans are inherently selfish, don't you? Why be the only one who is selfless in a selfish world?" She pauses, tapping her chin. "No offense."_

_"You know what's really stupid?" You find yourself saying as you gently, reassuringly touch the girl's embracing arm. "How people think that we've gotten this far in the world by being selfish and strong only for themselves — now that is stupid. Yes, people are weak, but that's why people rely on each other. Someone who doesn't realize that is… a neophyte in my opinion. No offense."_

_Sierra stares at you. And stares. And stares. And then she laughs. But this laugh isn't like her other laughs. This laugh is short, sour, sad._

_"Whatever." Sierra waves you off abruptly as she turns your back to you. "Whatever happens is on you. Just remember that."_

_And then another chilling winter wind blows through. As it comes, you — for some reason — grip the girl who is embracing you tightly. The two of you watch as Sierra's form shatters like petals, watch as those shattered petals are blown off into the wind, watch as a mutli-petaled brilliant flower falls to the ground where she once stood._

_"A dahlia..." The girl murmurs as she untangles herself from you._

_You watch as she walks over to the fallen flower and picks it up delicately by its stem. She tucks a lock of black hair behind her ear and twirls the flower by its stem as she walks over to you._

_"It can mean dignity," she murmurs as she hands it to you, "but it can also mean instability." She glances over to the area where Sierra one stood. "Go figure—"_

_She is cut off as you grab her arm and pull her into a warm, tight embrace. She is tense in your embrace. You can tell that she is confused, uncertain… hopeful…?_

_"Maya…" You breathe out her name and hug her even tighter._

_She tenses even further. Her lips part a soundless word as her eyes widen._

_"Yeah…" She whispers, tears welling in her eyes. "It's… It's me."_

_She is warm even though she is dead. Another contradiction._

_There is silence._

_"You know that you've got to let me go eventually, right?" Maya scoffs. "I mean, I know I'm lovable but…" Her voice cracks and she returns your embrace. "But, y-you've really got to let me go…"_

_"I know…"_

_You whisper the phrase quietly and continue to hold her tightly._

_"I'd be lying if I told you that I wanted to let you go…"_

_"I'd be lying if I said the same."_

_There is a pause._

_"You fought and you survived." Maya whispers. "I asked you to do such a selfish thing…"_

_"Don't pretend to be all mature now." You retort back to her as your stroke her head._

_"What?" Maya shouts back in a fluster — even though she is flustered, she does not let you go. "I am mature! I've been mature!"_

_"Of course, of course." You reassure her sarcastically._

_"You're terrible, you know?"_

_"I know."_

_"I didn't mean…"_

_"I know, knucklehead."_

_"You know…" Maya murmurs. "I really… really wanted to survive with you and the others." She shakes her head. "And my sister…. I have a sister and she…." Her voice breaks again and she bites her lip._

_"I know."_

_"I… I wanted to live too…"_

_There is silence; and in that silence you draw her in more closely._

_"**I** **know**."_

_Again silence._

_"I need to save Hiro, Maya."_

_"I… know..."_

_"Sayanora means goodbye in Japanese." You say suddenly, abruptly as you press your ear to her chest, to her heart. It thrums oh so quietly in your ears. And you know very well that it is (in reality) your heart that is beating. "Did you know that?"_

_"Yeah." She whispers back. "You told me before, remember?"_

_"I'm just making sure that you remember."_

_She pulls away and makes a face at you, but you simply laugh and pull her back into your hug. She doesn't resist. There is not a drop of resistance in her body. She is ready. And so are you. You take a deep breath and let out a quiet sigh:_

_"Sayanora, Maya."_

_A cold wind blows again, but this time it carries the scent of spring time. Sweet flowers. Open skies. Green._

_"Sayanora, Kitsune," whispers the wind._

_You are alone. But not really, because in your hand is a cluster of beautiful small purple flowers. Their petals fan out like star tips and reflect the sunlight up above._

_Aster Tataricus._

_Shion._

_"Remembrance."_

_You join the cluster of flowers together with the others you hold in your hand._

_Now you only have one more person to greet._

* * *

"You…" Hiro muttered with narrowed eyes at the man who stood in the doorway of the hospital room, at the man named Sora Keiji.

He had been waiting for this moment. He had been waiting to meet Sora Keiji again. To meet the false doctor. And now what…? The whole situation seemed anticlimactic.

"You're a liar…" Was all Hiro could muster. "You… _hurt _my brother. And you call yourself a…" His voice cracked (oh how he hated it when his voice cracked). "... a doctor?"

A deep and heavy sigh.

Long Tien — no, Sora Keji — looked so tired. So old. So _pathetic_.

"I know how you feel about me, Mr. Hamada." Sora answered him steadily. "I know I have ruined many lives — your brother's life." He paused, gesturing towards Hiro faintly with a strange smile. "But don't tell me that you wouldn't have done the same."

The same…?

"I'm sure my friend Tako has told you," Sora continues, lowering his hand and reaching into his pocket, "what happened to my son."

Hiro side-glanced towards the bed, before turning back to Sora and narrowing his eyes at the man's suspicious movements. The man raised his hands to signal he meant no harm; and from his pocket he pulled out a small silver parcel.

"What if it was your brother?" Sora continued as he popped open the parcel. "I'm sure you would've done the same."

Hiro paled as he saw what lay within the parcel. It was something that he had seen many times before. He had seen it in video recordings of the past. He had seen it being transported in the present. He had seen his brother using it—

—two vials filled with clear liquid.

Project Doubutsu's culmination.

"Please, Hiro," Sora Keiji gazed at Hiro with sorrow. "Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same for your brother. I've looked into your personal history, Hiro. Your brother — he meant everything to you, didn't he? You'd do anything for him. I understand that, Hiro. That's why I gave your brother freedom. So, please, in exchange… Give my son freedom."

* * *

_You hold the cluster of flowers in your hands tightly. They're a brilliant rainbow gradient of colors. You don't think you've seen anything so beautiful before. It's so beautiful that it makes your heart ache. That is why you have to take a deep and calming breath before you throw the cluster of flowers into the air._

_The flowers do not twirl away from each other as expected, nor do they fall to the floor in a rainfall of color. Instead, the flowers swirl together into a floating black mass. A floating black mass that soon flattens, grows pointed ears, and grows a pointed snout. A mask. A fox mask._

_And from this mask grows another form._

_The form starts off as a black blob of mass behind the mask, but it rounds and elongates and branches outwards. It branches outwards like a blooming flower; and it continues branching until it becomes recognizable as a human form._

_"Kitsune…" You breath the name out slowly._

_And as you breath the name out, you seem to breathe life into the black humanoid figure. It gains color and refined shape. And with its now refined hand, it reaches up to the mask attached to its face and pulls it off._

_Dead eyes and a white smirk just beneath them._

_You know this person. You know this person because this person is—_

_"Tadashi Hamada."_

_— the figure identifies both himself and you at the same time._

_Your reflection gazes at you with such apathy, with such… disgust?_

_"Do you need me to step in again for you, Tadashi."_

_Your reflection asks you such a question in monotone._

_"No…" You shake your head and smile a faint smile. "But I do need your help… My own help?" You laugh lightly. "How this works is sort of confusin—"_

_"So, are you going to accept me, kill me now, Tadashi? I'd be lying if I said that I wouldn't devour what little is left of you."_

_There is a drop of venom — of menace — in your reflection's words._

_"I never said anything about killing and devouring…" You murmur with a raised eyebrow, before you tilt your head thoughtfully. "... but accepting, yeah. I was considering accepting you."_

_You extend your hand out towards your reflection but your reflection does not mirror your action._

_"Even if you accept me, you will still be weak." Your reflection informs you plainly. "The only way to survive is for me to take your place again. It's logic."_

_You find yourself frowning:_

_"But I won't be able to save Hiro if I become you, and I won't be able to save him if I stay the way that I am."_

_"So." Your reflection states calmly, almost questioningly, as he takes a step forward. His body is tense. Ready. Ready to fight. To survive._

_To survive but not to truly "survive" in the sense of actually "living"._

_"You're pathetic you know that." Your reflection murmurs to you in disappointment. "I've been fighting for you this entire time because you were too weak to."_

_And then you come to a realization. You realize that he is right._

_[You] are pathetic._

_And so is [your reflection]._

_And that's perfectly fine with you. "Patheticness" is just an ideal, a concept, a belief. And so is weakness. Therefore those things don't matter, right?_

_Your reflection's eyes widen for a moment and you see him reach for his katana [your katana] that is strapped to his back. You see him reach for it, but you do not panic. Instead you calmly approach him, grab his wrist, and jerk it away from the weapon._

_Your reflection looks at you with widened eyes. And in those eyes, you can see for the first time ever an emotion. What is that emotion? You know it well. You have experienced it so many times before. It is actually because of that emotion that you are in your current situation._

_Fear._

_You jerk your reflection towards you._

_You jerk your reflection towards you and into your arms._

_An embrace._

_You realize that you've been giving so many embraces lately. It's almost ridiculous to the point of being corny._

_Your reflection is tense in your hold. He is still ready to fight, to survive._

_"What are you doing." Your reflection asks you quietly._

_"I told you that I was accepting you didn't I?"_

_"I would be lying if I said this is what I pictured when you said that you'd accept me."_

_"I know."_

_And you feel your reflection relax in your embrace._

_"I've killed innocent people."_

_"I know, and I have too." You respond calmly, evenly. "And I can never forgive myself for that." You tighten your hold on your reflection. "But there's no point on lingering on the past. What's—_

_"—What's gone is gone." He finishes for you._

_"That's right." You respond. "And that's why we need to focus on what we have right now."_

_"It's impossible to save both yourself and other people." Kitsune mutters. "You do know that."_

_"There's no such thing as impossible." You retort._

_Silence._

_"If that's so… you…" Kitsune whispers harshly, darkly. "You better be able to protect everything we weren't able to protect back then."_

_"Of course." You promise with solemness._

_"And you better be able to protect Hiro, Kitsune." Your reflection continues. "And the others. My friends and your friends."_

_"I thought they were just acquaintances." You laugh jokingly, before you calm yourself into a pleasant smile. "Of course, Tadashi Hamada."_

_Your reflection shifts in your embrace and you can feel arms wrap around your own body._

_"Fine." Your reflection whispers. "I was tired of being alone anyways."_

_And [you] shatter to pieces in your arms._

_"Thank you…"_

_(Who whispers such a thing, you're not sure.)_

_The ground beneath where [you] formerly stood erupts and colorful greenery grows forth. Flowers of all shades. Vines. Trees. The springtime air. These are all the things [you] have left behind for yourself. Those things and —_

_— you look at what you now hold in your hands —_

_— a black fox mask._

_You laugh to yourself at the irony and slowly fasten it to your face. It is a perfect fit._

* * *

Cass Hamada continued to hover protectively over her eldest nephew even when the woman named Maeko Rice pointed her pistol at him. Even as her finger moved towards the trigger, Cass held onto her nephew tightly. Even as her own nephew uttered such cruel and strange things, she held onto him tightly. When Maeko moved to pull the trigger, Cass still held on tightly. She held on tightly even as the booming sound of the gun echoed in her ears—

"Violence is an ineffective solution to conflict."

Baymax said such a thing as he hugged Maeko tightly. Her hand which held the still smoking pistol was awkwardly up in the air. Her squinting eyes were focused on the broken flower vase placed next to the hospital bed. Her bullet was embedded into the wall right behind it.

"Tadashi…" Cass whispered. "Tadashi are you alright…?"

The young man sat cradled in her arms. His hand was entangled in his messy dark hair and he had on a wincing expression.

"Tadashi is experience high levels of stress and chemical imbalance." Baymax informed the occupants of the room calmly. "He needs rest."

Cass glanced warily, darkly at Maeko.

"I wasn't actually going to shoot him." The woman informed her calmly. "I was trying to bring Kitsune out so I could talk to him. Kitsune killed my sister."

Cass froze for a moment, before she shook her head and stroked Tadashi's cheek gently.

"Honey…"

He tensed suddenly in her arms. And he untangled his hand from his hair. His body then relaxed and he let out a quiet breath:

"I need to go _now_."

* * *

"Are those things supposed to be human…?'

Honey Lemon had asked such a thing in a horrified voice as she had observed the humanoid forms that had suddenly emerged from the hospital's doors. They certainly did not look human to her. Their skins were tight like leather around their tho frames, yet they were pale and sickly looking. Their limbs stuck out at awkward angles and strange lumps were scattered on their bodies. And even though each one looked vastly different from the next, they had two things in common: one, they were all wearing white clothing, and two, they were all carrying melee weapons or some sort. Bats. Pipes.

"Failed experiments." Ookami whispered with narrows eyes. She looked away from them. "They know we're here."

"That's terrible…" Honey Lemon whispered.

"That's life." Neko whispered back to her with a smile that did not meet her eyes.

"Maybe we can sneak around them." Wasabi suggested in an almost begging tone.

Just as he uttered the suggestion, one of the humanoids lifted its head and looked in their direction. It then locked eyes with Wasabi. The latter shook his head furiously, but alas the humanoid let out an ear-splitting screech—

— and the humanoid crowd charged forth. From this distance it looked as if a behemoth of meat was rushing towards them.

"This is like some Resident Evil shit…" Taka shook his head.

"More like Left 4 Dead." Fred interjected.

"I am so Left 4 Done with you two." Gogo growled.

"We'll take the left flank if you cats can handle the right." Neko offered.

"We need to round them or to break the ranks so some of us can slip past." Ookami mused before glancing over her shoulder. "Gogo and Neko?"

"Done." They answered in unison.

And then chaos erupted.

Complete and utter chaos. Swinging weapons. Inhuman shouts. The humanoid forms were viciously swinging their weapons and screaming animalistically. Their strength was surprising and at times several of the heroes found themselves being flung to the side. Although they were strong, however, they were unbelievable uncoordinated.

"Go for the legs!" Gogo shouted as she came to this realization.

Suddenly, a shadow passed the group overhead. Due to the chaos unfolding, only Fred was able to observe the sight. He lifted his head in surprise as he sloppily dodged a murderous swipe from one of the humanoids, and he squinted.

"Hey... Isn't that...?"

A black teardrop of darkness unlatched itself and dropped down from the shadow overhead

An animalistic growl resonated in Fred's ears; and he was able to turn just in time to see a point of silver hurtling towards his head. His mind registered the sight, yet his body wouldn't listen to what his mind was telling it to do. No, his body simply wasn't fast enough.

"Fred!"

— in the distance, someone was screaming his name.

It wasn't the dramatic, heroic death he had been hoping for. No, that wasn't it. He just… didn't want to die.

A sickening crunch filled the air followed by the raw scent of iron.

"FRED!"

…

Gogo stared in confusion at the sight before her. Her senses seemed to be failing her. Just a second ago, she had seen Fred fighting alongside Taka. A millisecond later, she had seen one of the humanoids lunge at him. At that moment in time, he had clearly been distracted. He had no time to react — even when she had screamed his name repeatedly. And now…?

A dust cloud that seemed to have formed from nowhere had enveloped both Fred and the humanoid monster. The loud booming crunch that had preceded the cloud had captured the attention of those in the surrounding area. Now all eyes — even those of questionable humanity — were trained on the monstrous cloud.

"Fredzilla…?" Taka murmured from where he stood wide-eyed and frozen several feet away from the cloud of dust.

Drip. Drip.

The sound was unmistakable.

Gogo's heart hammered loudly in her chest. Fear? Hope? No, this world was too cruel to allow such a thing to exist. ('If you think this world is cruel, then change it!')

"Fred!" Gogo shouted as she ran in a flash of yellow towards the cloud. Her eyes burned for some reason she could not quite understand. "Fred, if you're dead, I'll kill you!"

"That's a real the paradox, you know?"

The familiar voice resonated from within the sphere of dust. The familiarity of it caused Gogo to stop in her tracks and skid to the very edge of the dust cloud. And suddenly, a sharp and frigid gale whipped itself around the area. The debris in the area was thrown to the side, revealing —

"Well, I'll be damned…" Came Neko's awed whisper from behind her. "I can't even think of a good cat joke to counter what I'm seeing here."

A figure cloaked in the deepest black — a strangely familiar cloak? Wasn't that Callaghan's cloak? — stood where Fred had once stood. Such a strange figure this figure was — his appearance strayed between that of an animal and that of a human. His face was that of a fox — a black fox: slanted eyes, pointed ears, red drawn whiskers and mouth; and his body was that of a human. The blood that dribbled from his raised arm which was being bitten into with the metal rod proved the fact.

"Kitsune…?" Gogo whispered.

"Duuuude…"

The groan that emanated throughout the quiet area came from right beneath Kitsune (?). Gogo glanced downwards towards the dark clad man's feet and found herself arching an eyebrow. There the Fredzilla lay prostrate and groaning and — most importantly — safe.

"... not… cool…" Fred continued to groan. "Dude… Tadashi… not cool at all…"

Tadashi, huh? Was that really true? Or was this…? That aside, what the hell was this man doing here? He wasn't well enough to be here!

Gogo clenched her fists.

There was a pause of silence.

The dark clad man seemed to realize that he was at the center of attention. Raising his free hand towards his face, Kitsune (?) lifted up his animalistic mask—

— and revealed a very human smile.

"I was going to say 'I'm just dropping in' before I landed," Tadashi (?) laughed soundly to himself as if all was right in the world, "but it's a little bit too late for that, huh?"

* * *

Next Chapter: Kyousoukyoku (狂想曲)

∟"Rhapsody"

...

"I was trying to go for the 'cool and slick' but 'a nice guy' kind of look."

"You might want to get rid of your face then."

"... Hurtful."

...

"So I'd be the final test subject is what it comes down to... And then everything ends with me?"

"Everything ends with you."

...

"The difference between humans and animals, humans and humans... I want to discover it!"

...

"I'm going to you right in front of Fox, Alice."

"Not if I kill that knucklehead first!"

"Murder is not a healthy way to resolve conflicts."

...

"Dude, we so need our own spin off superhero team. Just the two of us."

"DUDE!"

* * *

**A/N:** I'm alive! Ish! It feels like forever since I've been on fanfiction xD. I apologize for not update for literally half a year. College has just been kicking my ass. Finals are over finally though, so here's a new chapter! Ngl, I haven't touched this fic in so long that I sort of forgot some of the major plot points so I had to do some research into my own story xD. But all of that has been resolved.

We're nearing the end, guys. It looks like there's going to be around 25 chapters to this fic with the 25th chapter being an epilogue of sorts. Maybe. /squints. I'm not sure. I mean I had it all planned out before, but then life happened...and yeah.


	23. Rhapsody

**Fox-face and Flames**

_Twenty-third Encounter_: Kyousoukyoku (狂想曲)

∟"Rhapsody"

* * *

Fred was in pain to say the least. Being landed on was not fun. Not fun at all. He groaned and grimaced, but… No one seemed to pay him any attention. Not even Tadashi who was perched serenely on his back.

"Tadashi…?" Gogo asked incredulously as she stood frozen in place.

Yes, it definitely was Tadashi Hamada. It had to be. That smile that he was wearing definitely belonged to Tadashi Hamada.

"That _is _my name." Tadashi (?) replied matter-of-factually, almost coyly, before his attention returned to his bleeding arm that was still being bitten into by the metal pipe. His dark eyes locked onto the humanoid creature at the other end of the pipe; and they narrowed. "Oh… One second."

In one quick and fluid movement, he reached behind his back and drew out what appeared to be a sliver of silver. He whipped that sliver outwards in an arc, an arc that slid through the abdomen of the humanoid like a hot knife slicing butter. The humanoid's body hit the ground a second later.

There had not been a drop of hesitation in the man's movements. Each inclination of the man's body had been made with deliberateness. There was no way this could be Tadashi Hamada. There was no way Tadashi Hamada would put down another life so easily. No, this man had to be—

"Kitsune!" Ookami called as she effectively knocked three humanoid figures off of their feet and crushed their windpipes with efficiency. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She voiced the opinions of the others engaged in combat clearly and precisely.

"I was going to go find Hiro," Kitsune (?) explained curtly, wincing as he pulled the pipe out from where it had been embedded in his arm, "but it looked like you needed help, so I dropped in. Baymax is on his way to Hir—"

"That's not what she meant!" Gogo scowled as she stormed towards the man. She nonchalantly threw one of her disks in an arc and effectively mowed down five humanoids before catching the thing with an angry hand. "Why the hell are you here? You're not well enough to be here!"

The man looked rather hurt at her statement. Yes, his hurt was portrayed clearly on his face. Tadashi?

"I promise that I won't create any complications by being here." Tadashi (?) answered her solemnly. "Besides, I may not be at one-hundred-percent; but I don't need to be to handle these… things."

He glanced downwards towards the humanoid creature that he had downed. Much to Gogo's surprise, the thing was twitching and was still in one piece. It was _alive_. But how? She knew she had seen the man cut the humanoid clean in two.

Tadashi (?) must have noticed her look of confusion because he held his weapon out horizontally for her. It was a katana, but at the same time it was not. Glowing red neon lines glowed from its hilt to its tip; and it seemed to be buzzing with some kind of noise. The air around the thing was electric.

"It's built with an EM-pulse hydrogen-based frame." Tadashi (?) explained as he tilted the thing to the side. "The weak hydrogen bonds allow it to phase through organic material, but…" He smirked slyly. "It can send quite a shock through a person's nervous system." He paused, his expression darkening ever so slightly. "Hiro designed it, and Callaghan and Krei put it together with Abby. They stopped by the hospital to give it to me but, but..." He glanced down at the twitching humanoid figure with a blank expression. "I think that I'm being more unmerciful than merciful by using _this_ on them."

"I dunno about that hydrogeny thing you were talking about, Kit," came Neko's familiar drawl, "but looks to me like you're back in the cat game!"

She leapt from the body of a humanoid figure she had been perched on and landed next to Gogo with her hands on her hips. She eyed the man's sword with mild interest, before she gestured towards a red object that dangled from a chain at its hilt; she smiled coyly at it. "That doesn't happen to be a cat key-chain, does it? Very flattering, Kit!"

"Unfortunately, it isn't, Neko." He replied with slight amusement. "It's a tanuki key-chain. The one that Honey Lemon got for me. I thought it was cute so…"

"Kitsune!"

Before the man could even finish his statement, he found himself being constricted in a vice-like cling. Where Hebi had come from, Tadashi wasn't too sure. He was sure, however, that he wasn't pleased. He wasn't pleased at all.

"Kitsune, you shouldn't be here!" Hebi whined as she held to him tightly. "You're going to get—"

Her voice became caught in her throat as she registered the expression he was giving her. Her grip around him loosened; and her feet alighted onto the dirty ground. She took a step away from him. Two steps.

"Hebi." Kitsune (?) said slowly, pointedly. "You and Hiro have created many _complications _because of what you have done and what you have chosen not to do."

"I—"

"I'm disappointed in you — in the both of you." Tadashi sighed suddenly, abruptly; and he pinched the bridge of his nose tiredly. "And it's taking every ounce of energy in my body not to smack you silly right here and now, but..."

He bent down to her eye level; and sighing, he plopped his uninjured hand onto her head. Her eyes widened under his warm touch.

"I know you were doing what you thought was right, but what you did was unbelievably stupid."

Hebi opened her mouth wordlessly.

"Not to break the heart-touching moment or anything," came Wasabi's strained voice — he was dodging the tip of a spiked bat nearby , "but I'm sorta confused and concerned right now. Two things. No offense, but are you Tadashi or Kitsune right now?"

"Hm…" Tadashi (?) hummed contemplatively as he and the others watched Wasabi dodge another swing of the spiked bat. "I'm not too sure myself. I don't think it matters too much though. I mean, I feel like myself."

Gogo grimaced at Wasabi's acrobatics before she flung one of her disks at the humanoid that was cornering him. The disk hit its mark and came flying back to her.

"Uh… thanks, Gogo." Wasabi grunted as he wiped off the beads of sweat lining his forehead and made his way over to the gathering group. "Question one, part b…" The man continued as he observed Tadashi's nonchalantness with concern. "Do you… Do you remember…? Er…"

"More or less, big guy." Tadashi answered with a laugh and a slight shrug — several members of the gathered group froze at the sound. "I remember mostly what happened. My Kitsune days are still kind of fuzzy, but…" His expression became strange again. "But, I know who the enemy is; and I know what I want to do."

"Alright…" Wasabi nodded tentatively, uncertainly. "Second thing…" He pointed to Fred who was still groaning beneath Tadashi's feet. "Dude, I'm pretty sure Fred is about to pass out there."

"Oh, sorry about that, Fred." Tadashi blanched as he quickly hopped off of the man. "I was caught up in the moment."

He turned on his heels and offered the groaning man a hand. Fred took it generously while saying, "It's cool dude. I was planning on visiting a chiropractor anyways. Saved me the trouble."

"Are you sure about that?" Taka questioned suddenly as he appeared behind Tadashi just as suddenly. There was suspicion in his tone. "I'm pretty sure I just saw an assassination attempt right there — Black Widow style."

"Please," Tadashi raised an eyebrow at him with an impassive expression, "Taka, if I wanted to assassinate Fred, I would've done it a long time ago. Black Widow or not."

"That's comforting to hear…" Gogo muttered with narrowed eyes.

Tadashi blinked back at her curiously.

It was at this time that Ookami angrily shouted at them. She was back to back with Honey Lemon; and although it was evident that they were handling the humanoids perfectly fine, it was also evident that they were becoming fatigued with the effort. They were the ones attracting all the attention after all.

"Stop gathering in one spot and making yourself easy targets! Make yourselves useful instead," was what she had shouted.

"I dunno," Taka called back to her, as he whipped out his gun and shot one of the charging humanoids in the leg, "you look like you're handling that mess pretty wel—ow!"

The man had been cut off by an abrupt karate chop to the head. Neko stood beside him with a cheeky grin.

"Come on, Taka-baka," the woman grinned from ear-to-ear as she gripped the addressed man's shoulders tightly, "you heard the woman."

Taka grimaced back at her. He looked like he was about to complain.

"Wait before you go..." Tadashi said suddenly as he placed his hand on his hip, "Sasori stopped by the hospital. He's headed back to the old facility to collect evidence. Maeko went with him. She's worked with video recalibration before, and they're going to take what they find to the 'authorities', so…"

A strange expression had passed over his face again when he said the woman's name and the word "authorities".

"So…!" Wasabi broke out into a grin.

"So?" Taka frowned in confusion.

"So regardless of what happens tonight," Tadashi finished, pulling his mask back over his face with narrowed eyes, "CASCO is going down."

"That's the kind of news I like to hear!" Fred grinned beside him. He slapped Tadashi on the back hard.

But the man ignored this and turned his attention towards Gogo.

"I need you to come with me into the hospital _now_."

His voice had suddenly taken on a dark and mellow tone which Gogo had always attributed to Kitsune. She glowered at him more out of curiosity and confusion than out of spite. He, however, registered the expression as spite; and he cleared his throat loudly as he lifted up his mask.

"I mean — could you come with me? Everyone out here looks like they've got it under control. And…"

He shook his head suddenly and gripped her shoulders just as suddenly and firmly.

"No, I _need _someone fast to help me rescue Hiro. I need _you_, Gogo."

Gogo stared at the man incredulously before she shook her head and let out what sounded like a snort.

"No need to short circuit, Hamada boy." She replied as she brushed his hands off from her shoulders. "I'll help you. Hiro means a lot me too — to all of us... "

"I'll come too!" Hebi chirped as she hopped to Tadashi's side. She seemed to be suddenly rejuvenated by the man's presence and his words to her. And when the man placed a hand on her head, her entire being lit up. Of course, that was until she registered the man's expression.

His expression up to that point had been the stolid one that Hebi had become familiar to seeing on Kitsune's face. It suddenly, however, changed abruptly. The corners of his lips twitched upwards and his eyebrows raised in amusement. He was smiling. He was smiling, but his smile was not the warm and comforting one she had received before. This smile was absolutely terrifying.

The hand that he had placed on her head suddenly felt very heavy. No, that wasn't it. That wasn't it all at all. The man was pushing her head down slowly, carefully with his hand. He was squishing her.

"Haha," Tadashi laughed a dry laugh, "the girl who caused such a mess in the first place wants to come along and cause more trouble? Very funny."

"K-Kitsune," the girl laughed a nervous laugh, "you're squishing me…"

"Dude, she's going to become even shorter if you keep doing that." Taka commented. "Smaller than Ant-Man but without the reversible effects."

At the statement, Hebi angrily whipped her head around and glowered viciously at the man.

"And you, Taka," Tadashi nodded at the man, causing the latter to start, "you need to stay out of trouble too."

"What?" Taka shook his head incredulously at the man's foreign demeanor. "You regained your memories and now you're Team Mom?"

"I got that one down, Kit." Neko laughed as she smacked Taka over the head.

Tadashi eyed Hebi and raised an eyebrow at Neko.

"Got that one too." Neko grinned slyly in response.

"Alright then." Tadashi nodded at Gogo. "Ready?"

"You don't need to ask." Gogo scoffed at him.

And thus the duo made a mad dash through the crowd of humanoids. They zigzagged between legs, dodged flying and swinging weapons, and passed by Honey Lemon and Ookami. A very, very brief greeting ensued ("Tadashi!", "Honey Lemon! The key-chain makes a great accessory. Thanks.", "Come on (Hurry up), Hamada Boy (Kitsune)!"); and they were on their way again.

A stream of bright yellow; and a stream of dark black.

In less than a minute they were at the doors to the hospital.

…

Sora Keiji repeated his request for the fifth time. For the fifth time, the phrase "your brother" was thrown up in the air. At this point in time, Hiro's face was impassive.

"You're brother…" Sora Keiji said for the sixth time. "You'd do the same for him. You're the last key Hiro. After you, Project Doubutsu is over."

There was a pause.

Keeping his impassive expression constant, Hiro then asked and said, "So I'd be the final test subject is what it comes down to... And then everything ends with me?"

"Everything ends with you." Sora nodded, his expression becoming ecstatic. "Everything that your brother went through. Everything that Tada—"

"Don't you dare say his name!" Hiro hissed, hands clenched into fists. "Don't pretend like you even remotely understand what our relationship is like!"

Sora stared at the adolescent with widened eyes and parted lips. The outburst had been unexpected for the man. It had been unexpected for Hiro as well. But the stream of uncontrollable words didn't stop there—

"I am nothing like you! Unlike you, I actually know that if I _ever_ did anything to help others by hurting _myself_ or other people, my brother would be angry at me!"

Sora's expression darkened.

"No, he wouldn't be angry. He'd just be disappointed. Because my brother has _always_ been understanding — even to the worst of people! And I know that if he — Kitsune or Tadashi or whatever you've made him become — ever laid eyes on you, he'd feel sorry for you. Even if he kills you, he'd feel sorry for you! Because you're just some sad, pathetic useless father who can't even tell right from wrong!"

Sora's expression morphed into one of surprise — confusion even. Hiro's own expression mirrored it. His own words echoed loudly in his ears. Deafening, ringing, reaching. He faltered, breathless, and took a step backwards.

A slow clap then resonated throughout the room. Hiro frowned; Sora frowned; and they both turned their heads towards the doorway. Tako stood there leaning against the doorframe with Saru humming placidly by his side.

"Encore! Encore!" Saru cried suddenly, shrilly.

"That was a spectacle indeed worthy of an encore." Tako smiled serenely. "But we must cut these theatrics short for now."

"Oh, Tako!" Sora's head perked up. "I was just about to request your assistance in—-

_Bang_!

There was a sudden flash of light in the darkness.

Sora and Hiro stared at Tako in confusion — stared at the black object held in the man's hand. Hiro's eyes widened; and he tensed, waiting for the painful shock of pain to wrack through his body…. But it didn't come.

A miss then?

Sora let out a sudden gasp; and his hands shot to his stomach. He laced his fingers tightly over that area, before redness began to seep through in between his fingers. His eyes widened at the sight; and his knees buckled beneath him.

"Ta… ko?" Sora questioned in confusion, before he collapsed motionlessly onto the floor.

"I apologize, Sora," Tako sighed as he took several steps forward, "but right now I am too curious."

Hiro took a step backwards and began to reach into the fold of his clothing with narrowed eyes.

"I really need to know… The difference between human beings and animals… I want to discover it!"

Hiro's fingers enclosed around a cube-like object residing in the fold. His fingers fumbled for the switch located on the contraption, but his fumbling was not quick enough. Just as his index finger found its way onto the nodule, he was suddenly, abruptly, and painfully knocked to the side by Saru. The cubed object went flying into the air; and Tako plucked it from the sky as it flew over his head like the thing was an apple.

"What's this, Alice?" Tako grinned as he turned the object over in his hand. "Oh, I see — this is what you and your fellow teammates keep your fancy suits in, yes?... How cute."

"Give me that, you crazy freak!" Hiro spat heatedly at the man. He struggled against Saru who was pinning him to the ground. "Let me go!"

"I can't let you go nor can I give you this device." Tako answered the adolescent calmly. "I can't do either of those because, Alice," he paused, gesturing for Saru to hoist the adolescent to a stand, "I need you to follow me into Wonderland."

But his words did not strike fear in Hiro for some reason. It was strange, but all the man's words did was spark disgust and hatred in his heart.

"You're insane." Hiro snapped. "You make the criminally institutionalized look like they should be out on the streets!"

"Oh my," Tako sighed, holstering his gun and turning away from the young man, "you sound so angry, Alice—"

"Are you stupid?" Hiro scoffed. "My name is Hiro not Alice."

Tako laughed dryly in response. He walked forward towards Sora's heaving body and pried the vial of liquid gripped in the man's hands away from him. He pocketed it with a hum.

"T-Tako…" Sora grunted. "You…!"

"Let's go to Wonderland, Hiro." Tako finally said as he exited the room.

Saru, while holding Hiro tightly and painfully in his grasps, followed the man out with a hum.

The trio glided through the darkened halls in silence. They turned corners, slid through doorways, and descended seemingly endless flights of stairs. During this silence, Hiro found himself side-glancing at Saru with a frown. The man was humming pleasantly, happily, like everything was right in the world. His demeanor was absolutely aggravating. Finally, the adolescent decided to speak his mind.

"Why in the world are you following this crazy guy?" Hiro whispered to the humming man.

The man turned to Hiro in response and smiled thinly as he asked, "What do you mean, Hiralice?"

_Hiralice? What the hell?_

They had reached the main floor of the hospital.

"This guy!" Hiro nodded at Tako who was walking several steps ahead of him. "It's obvious he's just using you for your strength!"

"Ahaha, it's not just obvious!" Saru laughed. "It's _very _obvious!"

"What?" Hiro recoiled. "Then why are you working for him?"

"I wonder why…" Saru tapped his chin pondering.

Tako led them to a pair of great iron doors that were located at the very end of the hall. The doors were taped over with yellow caution gauze. Keeping away from the doors was evidently highly advised. Even so, Tako ripped away the yellow tape without so much as a second thought.

"Well, that's probably because," Saru hummed, "I want to be needed — not kneaded like bread but _needed_ — by someone!"

Tako pushed open the doors, and a cold gust of frigid air escaped from the darkness lying inside. More stairs leading downwards were buried in that darkness. And for some reason, as Hiro gazed into that pitch-blackness, a sense of nausea erupted in his stomach. Something very bad was tucked away down there. He knew that much.

"Say, Hiro," Tako sang as he turned on his heels and gestured to the darkness behind him, "would you like to see how the Doubutsu Formula is made?"

The nausea in Hiro's stomach increased ten-fold, and they descended the stairs in utter silence.

They seemed to go on forever — the stairs, that was. Endless darkness, endless walking. Endless clip, clop, clip, clop—

—clack!

The noise their feet made against the ground changed suddenly. The makeup of the floor beneath them had evidently changed. They were no longer walking on marble; rather, it seemed like they were walking on concrete instead.

There was a soft _click! _and Hiro suddenly found himself blinded by a bright white light. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he found himself standing in a white room. The whiteness of the room seemed unrealistic — it was too white, too pristine, too "pure".

At the very center of the room was a large generator-looking contraption with a large screen at its forefront. Clear tubes and copper wires ran from the generator to capsules and test tubes that sat on white tables lining the room.

This was it. Hiro knew. This was the main production site of the Doubutsu Formula. Years upon years of gruelling science had been put into this room to create such a disgusting product. And for the second time in his life, Hiro was hit with the realization that science was capable of doing just as much bad as good.

The nausea in his stomach reached its boiling point; but then a familiar sound reached his ears—

_Vroom! Clang, Clack! Whhhsh!_

"You are suffering from high levels of stress. A good night's rest and perhaps a hot shower will remedy your state."

There was a flash of red and Saru went flying towards the opposite wall. His back smacked against the whiteness with a loud crack; and the impact seemed to cause the whole building to shudder with excitement. The dust around the thrown man and the wall cleared and settled. A red, iron fist clattered noisily to the floor beside the man and the crumbling wall.

"Baymax!"

…

Tadashi and Gogo swept through the hallways in silence. The former could feel the latter's gaze despite the fact that both of their faces were covered in masks.

"Is there something on my face?" Tadashi asked, before he quickly added. "Besides the mask I mean."

Gogo's answer to him was silence.

"You're worried about me." Tadashi stated calmly, matter-of-factly. "And to be honest, I'd be lying if I said I was one-hundred percent right now. But I know what I'm doing. Hiro comes first."

Again, Gogo's answer to him was silence.

"You need to trust me—"

"Why are you dressed like that?"

Gogo's sudden question — needless to say — surprised Tadashi; and he nearly tripped over his own two feet; but months of stumbling and falling had made him very good at getting back on his feet, so this nuance when unnoticed by Gogo.

"Dressed like what?" Tadashi questioned back.

"The black. The key-chain." — this was Gogo's curt response.

"Just a bunch of hand me downs and gifts." Tadashi clipped in response. "Coat from Callaghan, keychain from Honey Lemon, sword from Hiro, and mask from—"

Gogo noticed it. She noticed the sudden change in inflection in the man's voice. She could feel the sudden drop in temperature, the sudden change in the way the man running beside her held himself, the sudden fluctuation in his demeanor. But she said nothing.

"— _Tako_."

There was a pause.

"Honestly," Tadashi continued, his voice returning to it's usual calm and soothing tone, "I was aiming for the 'cool and slick' but 'a nice guy' kind of look."

"You might want to get rid of your face then." Gogo responded to him wryly.

"... Hurtful," he muttered after a pause of silence.

Gogo caught her mistake; and internally, she punched herself in the gut.

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know." Tadashi laughed a wry laugh.

Before the two could continue on with their conversation, a sudden tremor ran through the whole building. The framework of the entire thing seemed to creak and groan like it was ready to topple over at any second. The shaking caused them to stop in place.

"Talk about deja vu." Tadashi muttered, glancing at the floor with narrowed eyes. "From below us…?"

His gaze became distant like he was recalling something. Judging by the way his eyes darkened in the eyeholes of his mask, Gogo could tell what he was recalling wasn't pleasant. She called out to him, but her voice did not seem to reach him. So, she placed a hand on his shoulder and shook him lightly. He jerked away in response and seemed to gaze at Gogo in confusion. Gogo, however, did not tell him to get out of the hospital and leave the scene nor did she tell him that he was not fit for the coming events. She did not tell him these things, because she knew. She knew that he needed to move forward. She knew that he wanted totoo. So, she simply jerked her head to the side and said —

"Let's go, Hamada boy."

…

Those outside of the hospital heard the building shudder as well. At this point in time, they had managed to effectively defeat a majority of the humanoid creatures surrounding them. Only a handful of humanoids remained standing.

"What do you think that was?" Honey Lemon frowned, turning her head toward the shuddering building.

"Probably Gogo." Neko smirked beside her. "One feisty cat, she is."

The two had been fighting side-by-side away from the others for a while now.

Before they could go any deeper into their conversation, however, a loud whoop interrupted them—

"Dude, we are so good at this back-to-back thing! We're like Captain America and Bucky! No, that's not right. They don't really capture our personalities at all, do they?…. Let's see… maybe Grace and Frankie? Sam and Dean? No, those two are way too angsty — Kitsune-level angst. How about—"

Taka was busily indulging Fred; and Fred was busily indulging Taka. A circle of groaning humanoid forms were strewn around them haphazardly. The two didn't seem to pay them much heed.

"Wait!" Fred paused suddenly, holding up his hand dramatically. He turned to Taka with a serious expression. "Dude. We should start our own superhero spinoff. Just the two of us."

"Dude!" Taka gaped, clapping his hands together. "You are a god, Fred sensei! Your mind is a work of art!"

"Why," Fred grinned slyly, inspecting his reptilian claws, "thank you. I try."

"Would you two get serious?" Ookami _snapped_ from the side, as she _snapped_ the arm of a humanoid with ease. "We need to get inside as quickly as possible!"

"Only a couple more, Ookami!" Hebi chirped as she hopped over the fallen bodies. "A couple more and then we can go to my dear Kitsune, get loser boy out of there, and get our revenge!"

"I'm glad you guys decided to stay and help us take out all of these… people." Honey Lemon said suddenly to Neko as she observed those around her.

"Huh?" Neko cocked her head. "Whaddya mean?"

"Well," Honey Lemon pursed her lips, "I know that you could've just went straight into the building a while ago—"

"And let all these mice out into the city?" Neko smiled thinly, jerking her head towards the two humanoids that remained standing. "Well, we need to start doing some _actual_ good somewhere. Might as well start here."

…

"What are you doing here?!" Hiro shouted as he rushed towards the red-armored robot who stood by the stairway. The thing's handless arm was still raised in Saru's direction. "You were supposed to be watching over Tadashi!"

Baymax blinked at Hiro and said calmly, slowly, "Tadashi is here, Hiro."

Hiro paused as did Tako; and while the former recoiled in distress, the latter grinned with pleasure.

"What?!" Hiro exclaimed. "Why did you bring him here?!"

"He asked me to, Hiro." Baymax responded calmly.

"But he's—-!"

A clap resonated in the air. It was followed by a clear, musical laugh.

"Ah, it seems as if this play is wrapping up nicely." Tako sighed with pleasantness. "All the main characters are taking their places! The stage is set!"

"Set he says!" Saru laughed along with the man and began to dig himself out of the rubble. "Set! Set!"

"This is the grand finale!" Tako sang over Saru's inane shouts as he pulled his gun out of its holster. "I'm going to kill you right in front of Fox, Alice!"

The gleam in the man's eyes was deadly, but it did not frighten Hiro. It just made him feel sick, nauseous, disgusted. But then—

"Not if I kill that knucklehead first!"

Impossible. That voice. It sounded too bright, too vigorous, too angry, too energetic to be him. But… could it be..?

Suddenly, a familiar high-pitched whining sound struck the air. A blur of bright yellow hurtled in Saru's direction. The man was still busily untangling himself from the clutter of cement so he did not notice the flash of yellow at all. Thus, with a sickening crack, the yellow disk collided with his head; and he one again went sailing backwards into the wall. Once again, the whole building shuddered.

"Murder is not a healthy way to resolve conflicts." Baymax stated matter-of-factually.

There was a flash of black and yellow. The latter color hurtled in the direction of the fallen Saru, while the former color eclipsed Hiro's form. There was a warm breeze of wind as that hue of darkness stepped in front of the adolescent.

It was unmistakable — that broad back, that firm stance, that warmness that radiated from him.

The dark figure that stood before Hiro was undeniably—

"Fox!" Tako exclaimed, raising his weapon in the man's direction. "How nice of you to drop by for the final act."

"Shut up."

The tone was cold, dangerous, quiet. It made a chill run down Hiro's spine. That manner of speaking definitely belonged to the man known as Kitsune — the man whom Hiro was sure that he had 'killed'. But then the man turned on his heels and faced Hiro.

"Kit—"

The man pulled away his black mask and bent down to Hiro's eye level. As soon as their eyes met, Hiro found his heart hammering madly in his chest. Those eyes were not cold, emotionless, and dark — no. Those eyes were warm and filled with concern. And the man's expression was not blank or cruel either. The same emotions in the man's eyes were portrayed clearly on his face.

Hiro's heart fluttered as he began to reach an astonishing conclusion—

"'Dashi…?"

Tadashi scanned Hiro up and down. Tilted the adolescent's face side to side. Checked for injuries.

"Are you hurt?" He whispered.

Hiro wordlessly shook his head; and as soon as he finished the motion, he saw the man's warm expression change altogether. The man's eyebrows furrowed deeply; and his frown deepened into a scowl. An angry expression.

"Then. What. Were. You." Tadashi breathed deeply, smacking the adolescent over the head at every syllable. "Think. Ing. Knuckle. Head!"

"Ow! Ow!" Hiro recoiled, holding his hands up in defense; he squeezed his eyes shut. "Stop it!"

The smacking stopped, causing Hiro to lower his hands and to crack open his eyes. He registered a blur of black, before he was pulled into a warm, tight embrace. It was an embrace that was both familiar and foreign to him; and he tentatively, hesitantly returned it.

"Tadashi…?"

A callused hand ran through Hiro's hair and answered the question for him.

"Yeah," was Tadashi's curt, verbal response.

"But you're…" Hiro shook his head as he pulled away from the man and observed his dark clothing. "... why are you?"

"I remembered more or less of everything." Tadashi responded quietly, before his frown deepened. "It wouldn't have become so complicated if some _knucklehead _and _company _had told the truth."

"But you're…" Hiro looked at Tadashi up and down. "You're… okay…?"

"More or less." Tadashi shrugged without much vigor. "But I've gotta start somewhere."

It was then that Hiro's eyes came to rest on the sword that was strapped to the man's back. He recognized it — it was of his own design after all. His eye widened at the sight.

"Hey, that's—-!"

"You really have a bad habit of getting your inventions stolen." Tadashi quirked an eyebrow, before he elaborated: "You dropped the blueprints during the festival, and Callaghan picked it up." He paused, before he added — "Looks like that man also has a bad habit of stealing people's invention—"

_Click!_

_Bang!_

In a stream of blackness and silver, Tadashi spun in a circle and whipped out the blade that was strapped to his back. There was a spark of light, a clang, and a crack! as the bullet Tako had fired became embedded into the wall behind the two brothers.

Tadashi narrowed his eyes at the gun-wielding man who was wearing a pleasant smile.

"Baymax," Tadashi nodded at the robot, "go help Gogo. Saru is more of a hassle than this… man."

"If that's what you want, Tadashi." Baymax complied as he flew over to aid the yellow-armored woman.

Hiro paused and studied the expression on his older brother's face. Yes, this person was definitely Tadashi; but the dark and bitter expression he was wearing definitely belonged to Kitsune.

"H-Hey," Hiro laughed nervously, "he's my robot, y'know? You can't go ordering him around like that!"

Tadashi paused at the statement and turned to Hiro with a quirky smile — at the sight of the smile, Hiro felt relief spread throughout his chest — and stated plainly, "Yeah, well he's my invention, y'know."

"This is absolutely perfect!"

— Tako's voice broke through their conversation like a razor sharp knife—

"Alice and Fox, the deuteragonists of this spectacle. Fox, you are the most wonderful character that I have ever written!"

"He has your armor, right?" Tadashi asked Hiro suddenly.

Hiro nodded in response; and he turned again to study his brother's expression — but, his brother was no longer at his side. In the blink of an eye, Tadashi had moved from Hiro's side to Tako's front. His blade, with the guidance of his study hand, went in a low arc through Tako's body.

Tako let out a brief gasp of surprise, before he fell to his knees. His gun fell out of his hand and onto the floor with a clitter, clatter. He watched as Tadashi kicked the thing to the side.

"Give my brother his armor back." Tadashi ordered.

Tako laughed musically and complied. He tossed the cube-like object that he had been palming up into the air; and Hiro rushed forward to catch it. The adolescent studied the cube in his hand, before he narrowed his eyes and stepped forward towards Tako. Tadashi, however, held him back with his free hand.

"You know," the older Hamada said suddenly as he blinked down at Tako; his gaze — or so Hiro found —was strange and skin-prickling. "You were never that good at fighting. All you did was belt out dramatic prose and insignificant metaphors. It makes me really wonder how you managed to survive the trials."

Tako smirked back up at him.

"Ah, Fox," the man chucked dryly, "you have become so wonderfully human… A magnificent piece of art!"

Hiro felt a sudden pulse hatred erupt in his chest, but he was held back in place by Tadashi's extended hand.

"Thank you." Tadashi answered him a strangely upbeat tone in his voice. "But I was already human in the first place."

"A pseudo-human." Tako sang lightly in response.

"An artist like you," Tadashi smirked suddenly, ignoring the man's comment and raising his blade to tap the man's cheek, "would probably like to go out with a bang, right?"

"Dashi…"

"You're eyes," Tako whispered suddenly, "they howl."

The tip of Tadashi's blade pressed against Tako's cheek.

"Usagi…" Tadashi muttered, once again ignoring the man's irate statements. "What have you done to him?"

"The same thing that you did to that poor little girl in those trials." Tako cooed in response.

Tadashi's eyes widened at the statement; and he raised his blade as if to strike the man down. A small grip on his arm, however, stopped him short. He glanced down to find his brother gazing at him with burning eyes.

"Don't, 'Dashi." Hiro whispered, cocking his head ever so slightly. There was a strange wisdom in his eyes. "You _know_."

And this time — unlike the time at the showcase all those months before — Tadashi listened to his brother. He lowered his arm, hung his head, and rubbed his eyes. A second later, he raised his head and studied Tako's form with pensiveness.

"What is this?" Tako smiled slyly with a tilt of his dark head. "Do I see sympathy in your eyes, Fox?"

"Sympathy." Tadashi scoffed. "Why? Because you only ended up this way because of the trials? Because you wouldn't have done these things if the trials never happened?" He shook his head. "Right now you're acting on your own rational thoughts, so you are just as responsible as I am — as the others are — for the things you've done since the trials." He paused, before he added like an afterthought, "So I'm not going to kill you here, Tako. You and Sora are going to take responsibility for your actions."

Silence.

Disbelief.

Tako stared at Tadashi and stared and stared and stared.

And then he **laughed**.

He threw back his head and **laughed**.

And **laughed**.

The sound seemed to shake the building to its core.

And** laughed**.

For a moment, Tadashi saw Sierra **laughing** in the man's place.

And **laughed**.

Hiro swallowed. Tadashi pushed him back protectively.

But the man continued to **laugh**.

It caused the two brothers to shiver.

What the hell was this man planning?

Suddenly—

— "Hamada boys, watch out!"

Tadashi barely had enough time to grab Hiro and jump out of the way as Saru came hurtling down from above them. The man's landing caused cracks to appear along the ground; but he didn't seem to even notice his strength. He simply turned to Tako and patted him on the head.

"Does Tako need Saru's help?" The man questioned with a slight tilt of his head.

Tako stopped his laughing at the question. And the area became eerily silent.

Gogo and Baymax fell into place beside the brothers.

The woman was panting with an angry grimace. One of the disks resting on her arm was riddled with hairline fractures.

"Talk about a monster…" Gogo grumbled underneath her breath.

"Saru…" Tadashi muttered with narrowed eyes.

A cacophony of _clips_! and _clops_! suddenly resonated from the stairwell. A large mass of human bodies filtered into the room with varying degrees of panting and exhaustion. Their eyes first fell on the quartet standing closest to them — there were shouts of "Hiro!" and a shout of "Kitsune!" — and then their eyes fell onto the duo at the very back of the room.

"Tako." Ookami nodded dissonantly at the man.

"_Purr_fect." Neko smirked as she clasped her hands together. "I was hoping for the op_purr_tunity to rip out your tongue, Takoyaki."

"Ah, it looks like it _really_ is the time for the grand finale!" Tako laughed at the appearance of the newcomers and at their greetings to him. "All the characters are here!"

He reached into his pocket suddenly and pulled out a vial filled with clear blue liquid. Hiro's eyes widened at the sight.

How could he have forgotten? How could he have forgotten that Tako had the formula?

Hiro frowned and tensed as did the others.

What did the man even plan on doing with the thing?

The answer to their question came only a second later. In a quick and fluid motion, Tako uncapped the syringe to the vial and jabbed it into Saru's leg. The plunge went down and the liquid dissipated.

"Ow!" Saru yelped, pulling away from the man without a pout. "What did you do that for?!"

Tako simply continued to smile.

"I know very well that you're not compatible with this formula," he explained, "but I want to see what happens anyways."

Saru tilted his head in confusion at the man and began to mirror the man's smile. He froze, however, when the smile was only halfway up his face. Pausing, he raised his hands to his chest and gripped the area over his chest tightly.

"Tako, Tako!" The man cried, as he began swaying from side to side. "Tako, I don't feel so good."

"Sir," Baymax said suddenly, his robotic and automated voice sounding strangely grave and serious, "your metabolic functions are skyrocketing at a cellular level. It is urgent that you are taken to a hospital at—"

A shrill scream hit the air. It was a painfully grotesque scream that didn't even seem human.

The group watched as Saru began to madly claw at his chest. They watched as something strange appeared to be _pulsate_ from his chest. The pulsating grew more and more rapid as each second passed until something finally erupted from the area—

A lump of human flesh shaped like an arm. A hand.

Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Taka gagged at the sight. Tadashi grabbed Hebi and Hiro and covered their eyes.

Saru's body continued to contort and pulsate. Each second seemed to bring more fleshy eruptions. The flesh expanded and doubled and quadrupled, until the group found themselves staring at a towering body of flesh that seemed to reach the ceiling.

The sight of the thing reminded several of them of the humanoid creatures they had been fighting outside of the hospital. Except… This thing didn't look even remotely human at all.

"Now this," Tako whispered as he observed the groaning, moving mass, "is a human."

* * *

Next Chapter: Kokoro (心)

∟"Heart"

...

"Fighting this thing," Neko laughed wryly, "at least makes me feel like less of a monster."

Gogo studied her with a frown.

…

The brothers rode side-by-side on Baymax's back and flew through the air in a circle. Hiro caught a glimpse of their reflection on the black screen of the generator, and he couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat.

…

Honey Lemon had never felt so stressed in her life. Sure, her organic chemistry final had nearly caused her to rip out her hair on several occasions; but it hadn't been anything like _this_. Everyone was relying on her.

Was that excitement or nausea building in the base of her stomach?

She didn't know. She didn't know the answer to that question. But she knew one thing. She knew that she had to get this right.

…

It was just Tako, him, and his older brother. It seemed as if the universe was trying to get the three of them alone together all the time. The universe was a pretty shitty matchmaker, Hiro realized.

Here they were, however. Standing alone like all those times before. But something was different this time.

The last time the three of them were together like this, Hiro was certain that he had not been bleeding from a bullet-sized wound in his shoulder. He was certain that Tako hadn't been pointing the gun square at his head last time either. And he was absolutely sure that his brother had not been wearing such an expression either—

Hatred. Pain. Fear. Panic.

His brother wore all those expressions as he clutched his chest and panted heavily.

…

"This is…. good-bye, I guess."

* * *

**A/N**: Shit, well, here's the 23rd chapter! Sorry it took so long. I've been really busy. I'm actually really busy right now, but instead of actually doing the shit I'm supposed to do, here I am posting fanfictions. I really need to get my ass into gear…

Thanks to all those who followed, favorited, or reviewed! Your reviews were wonderful! And yes, I am very much alive. Just being strangled by college. I'm glad ya'll enjoyed the climax though. I was listening to some "drop the base" music when I was writing it xD. As for the Neko/Tadashi thing… I'll try to put some interactions in the last two chapters but it'll be more fluffy than romantic really.. And about my other BH6 fanfic… That one is pretty much on hiatus xD. I'm not sure if I'll ever get back to that one.

A big shout out to ZoidTheVoid. Your review made me smile like an idiot for fifteen minutes straight. Thanks for your insight!

Happy 2016 everyone!


	24. Heart

**Fox-Face and Flames**

_Twenty-fourth Encounter_: Kokoro (心)

∟"Heart"

* * *

There were news reporters everywhere. They swarmed around her like she was the honey to their bee swarm. The man known as Sasori lurked behind her and watched as the policemen and policemen made fruitless attempts to quell the crowd.

"So," a man asked as he shoved a microphone into her face, "so is it all true then? CASCO? The human experiments?"

The woman closed her eyes and began to wonder. She began to wonder if this was what she had been searching for? Is this the revenge that she wanted?

"I'm the one who killed Maya," Tadashi had said calmly to her while they had still been at the hospital. He did not realize that she was quite skillful in picking out nuances in a person's tone, that she could hear the quiver in his voice. "I'm the reason she's… Gone."

She had been gripping her pistol at that time and her hold on it had tightened at his words.

"She sacrificed herself so that I could survive." He had continued in a quiet voice, before he suddenly grabbed her hand that clutched the pistol. "And the worth of her life was — _is_ — immeasurable, so I am _not_ going to let you go on a roaring rampage of revenge and take away the life she used her own to save."

There had been silence, but it had not been an awed silence. Rather, it had been a contemplative one.

"You misunderstand me, Tadashi." She had replied slowly, carefully. "I'm not ignorant enough to claim revenge on you for what you've done. You were a victim of circumstances — that little I know."

His expression had twitched slightly at the word "victim".

"I want to know exactly what happened to Maya." She had said, trying to keep her voice even just as he had. "And I want to get _real_ revenge. Justice."

"We want the same thing." Tadashi had responded.

"Well," came a sudden and different voice from the open window to the room, "I can help with that!"

"Sasori.." Tadashi had identified the man with hesitance. "You're Sasori, right…?... Did you really just climb through the window?"

"Don't you people know how to use doors?!" Cassandra Hamada had shouted in exasperation, before she pulled back into herself and ushered them along. "My bad. Go on. Get whatever this is cleared up."

And thus Sasori — after he had given a speech about how he had desired a dramatic entrance fit for a hard boiled detective stuck in an ER drama — had offered his plan to bring CASCO out from the dark and into the light.

"I'd assume," he had muttered, "that Keiji won't be too worried about his other facilities at the moment."

Thus, after rambling on for a bit and after discussing something rather grave with Tadashi (Maeko had caught the words "family" and "home" in the mix), Sasori had lead Maeko out of the room and towards the 5b facility.

"Purple flowers were her favorite," Maeko had whispered to Tadashi as she passed him by.

"I remember," he had responded.

When the investigative duo had been sweeping past the lobby of the hospital, they had encountered a grim yet determined-looking trio just entering the building.

"Daughter, father, and nemesis — what an interesting bunch!" Was what Sasori had said.

And now Maeko was here, standing in front of dazzling flashing lights and black sticks. She breathed; tasted revenge, justice, bitterness on her tongue; and spoke, "Yes, CASCO was involved in all those matters. The evidence has been handed to the police."

* * *

"Dude." Taka deadpanned. "You've got to be kidding me."

The thing once known as Saru loomed before them. Grotesque shadows were cast along the folds of his skin by the overhead lights.

"That slimy fish…." Neko hissed with narrows eyes. Her entire body was tensed and ready to move.

"Okay," Wasabi laughed nervously, "now this may look bad, but that doesn't mean that it's going to be bad." He looked around at those who surrounded him for reassurance. "Right? _Right_? Righ—"

He was cut off as the mass of flesh lunged forward with a groan. What could only be partially identifiable as a human hand came hurtling down towards them.

"Move, people!" Someone shouted.

And people did indeed move.

Taka and Fred moved right in front of each other and — without even looking — ran right into to each other. The collision was painful to say the least. So painful that the duo became disoriented for several seconds. If it were not for Gogo and Neko pulling them away from the scene, they would have been flattened into pancakes.

Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Ookami were quicker on their feet, on the hand. They dove away from the hurtling mass of flesh and skidded across the floor until they collided rather painfully against opposite walls.

Meanwhile, Hiro and Hebi gaped in horror, fear, shock, and nausea at the thing that had once been Saru. Even though they had seen many terrible things in their young lives, this seemed to top everything. Together they stood frozen in place as the thing came down on them, but then—

— there was a flash of black. And they were enveloped in firm arms. These arms held them tightly, protectively.

Tadashi dashed as fast as he could manage away from the black shadow that was eclipsing him and the two adolescents he held in his arms. Even though he had been "gifted" with enhanced speed, he knew that there was a high probability that he would not make it because he was being weighed down by the two bodies he held under his arms. Even so, he did not release them. Even when the shadow was only inches away from him, he held onto them tightly because he knew—

— there was a flash of red, a touch of cold metal, and Tadashi, Hiro, and Hebi saw the floor rush beneath their feet.

The mass of flesh cracked against the floor several feet away from where Baymax alighted onto the ground with Tadashi, Hiro, and Hebi in tow. Tadashi and Hiro hopped out of the the robot's grasps, turned to the thing, and grinned simultaneously and said in unison, "Nice save, buddy."

"It sounds really creepy when you guys talk in unison." Hebi scowled. Her scowl, however, dissipated as Tadashi helped her down from Baymax's extended arm. She mumbled a quiet 'thanks' before giving Hiro a once over. Her scowl returned. "Tadashi was mad at me 'cause I listened to your stupid plan!"

"Technically, it was _our _stupid plan." Hiro chirped snarkly.

Before any more snark could be exchanged between the duo, however, a shadow loomed over them. Tadashi Hamada, the origin of the shadow, stood behind them with an unimpressed expression and a tapping foot. Hebi swallowed as did Hiro.

"Are you guys alright?!" Honey Lemon called suddenly from the corner of the room. Her shouted question had saved the two adolescents from an insane and mistimed lecture and so they silently thanked her for it.

"Just peachy." Gogo grimaced from another corner of the room as she jerked Taka upright.

"Looks like Takoyaki used the distraction to tuck-tail and scramble." Neko grimaced from beside her as she dusted a frazzled-looking Fred off.

Indeed. As everyone gave a quick sweep of the surrounding area and debris, they found that Tako was nowhere to be found. The man seemed to have disappeared in thin air.

Neko glanced up at the tower of groaning flesh, before a strange expression overtook her dark and menacing one. "Looks like we've got our tongues tied right now though…"

"Hiro." Tadashi spoke suddenly, side-glancing at his brother with a blank expression. "Put on your armor."

Hiro stared at his brother — at his brother who was both Kitsune and Tadashi at the same time — for a moment, before he shook his head roughly and nodded with determination. He pressed the nodule on the small cube he held in his hand and watched as the thing erupted with a bright flash of light. When the light faded, he was clad head-to-toe in armor.

Tadashi raised his eyebrow at the sight. "You improved its functions," was all he said.

"You look like one of those magical girls in those shows Taka always watches." Hebi scowled, looking rather unimpressed.

"We could really use your microbots right now." Tadashi tried testily, after he raised an inquiring eyebrow at Hebi's comment.

Hiro gave him a half-hearted shrug in turn and said, "We really could, couldn't we?"

Tadashi sighed.

The flesh monster was beginning to move again.

"Okay, guys," Wasabi stammered, "w-what's the plan, guys?!"

"We won't be able to scratch that thing with what we have now." Ookami clicked her tongue from beside him. She side-glanced at the larger man curiously. "You all are scientists aren't you? You should be able to think yourselves through this problem."

Wasabi stared at her for a minute in confusion. He then registered her waiting and trusting expression, before he nodded in surprise and rubbed his chin nervously.

"It looks like he's regenerating rapidly at a cellular level." Wasabi muttered. "He's bound to burn out eventually after he runs out of energy — ATP, but we don't know how long that'll take."

"If we had a catalyst we could speed up the reaction." Gogo nodded, watching as the thing began to raise its meaty hand in the air once more.

"But we don't know what caused the reaction in the first place…" Honey Lemon frowned as she ran her fingers over the pads of her purse.

"Maybe we could do something to the cells themselves." Hiro said slowly, contemplatively; the longer he stared at the bubbling blob of skin, the more he felt like he was about to lose his lunch. "Cause them to become hypotonic or hypertonic — make 'em rupture or shrivel up. Then we won't have to worry about them replicating — ugh, I wish I hadn't skipped that Cell Biology class!"

"You skipped one of your classes?!" Tadashi snapped, before he shook his head and refocused on the matter at hand. "We could do that or we could…. neutralize the reaction. Bring it to equilibrium and then end it then and there."

Hiro paused at the man's statement and his eyes widened.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hiro asked, a smirk beginning to crawl up his face.

"It'll be tough," Tadashi nodded, mirroring the smirk. "But I think with our chemistry genius here, we'll be able to do it just fine!"

Ookami, Taka, Neko, and Hebi exchanged perturbed glances across the room. They weren't sure what they were more surprised by — the words coming out of the mouth of the seven scientists or the fact that their Kitsune was one of these scientists. Fred noticed this exchange and nodded at them sympathetically.

"You just gotta watch them go like they're fireworks!" Fred shouted over the still groaning

Saru.

"Wait," Wasabi shook his head incredulously, "you mean you want to do _that_?"

"What's this **'that'**?!" Hebi scowled, before she glanced up at Tadashi with a pout. "My dear _Tadashi_, what is 'that'?"

Tadashi blinked down at her, laughed lightly, and patted her head. His gestures made a familiar and warm feeling blossom inside of her chest.

"It'd take to long to explain, Hebi." He answered.

The warm feeling dissipated at his statement; and she couldn't help but scowl at him in response.

"But the reaction process at this point…" Honey Lemon shook her head. "I don't know how much of it we'll need — not to mention how hot we'll need to make it to start the reaction process!"

"That's why you make as much as you can and heat it as hot as you can." Gogo responded, dodging to the left as the mass of flesh suddenly came down where she stood. "Excess is fine as long as the job gets done."

Ookami stared at the ongoing conversation in confusion, before she too had to dodge a hurtling fist coming her way. She hopped over pieces of fallen rubble and sparking wires and came to a skidding halt next to Tadashi's side.

"Tadashi, Kitsune, whoever you are," she frowned at him, "it sounds like you and your friends have an idea of how to stop this thing."

Tadashi blinked at her, before he nodded slowly.

"Do you remember the formula Honey Lemon used to neutralize the Doubutsu formula in our bloodstreams?"

"I do remember the Six somehow lowering our efficiency that day." Ookami replied with narrowed eyes. "Are you going to try and recreate that on that thing?"

"It's worth a shot." Tadashi nodded, before his eyes rose up to the squirming heap of flesh. "I think we're going to have to use his body as the system though. Inject it into his bloodstream and catalyze it with fire."

"Yeah," Hiro nodded from beside him. "I hate to say it, but that looks like that's the only way. We're gonna use the guy's body as the container."

"There are way too many variables!" Wasabi shouted over to them as he watched Neko and Honey Lemon dodge another onslaught of skin, muscle, and bones. "We could end up making the situation worse!"

"It's better than getting clobbered by this thing." Gogo hissed, dodging another fist of flesh.

Hiro surveyed the area once, before he turned and clambered onto Baymax's back. Then, with Tadashi shouting in surprise in the background, the duo took off and flew to Honey Lemon's side. They hovered several inches away from her; and she studied them with a hesitant expression.

"Do you think you could do it, Honey Lemon?" Hiro questioned, his expression serious.

Honey Lemon bit her lip and studied the floor for a moment. Endless calculations filtered through her head. Numerous chemical reactions, different bonding types and possibilities, and unstable chemical formulas flew through her mind. Her head was a storm of chemistry and biology, but even through this storm a single mindset shone through it all —

"I'll do it."

Hiro smiled graciously at her; and she mirrored it back to him.

It was then that Tadashi — with Hebi tailing behind him — reached their sides. The older Hamada gave the younger a frown, before he turned his attention to Honey Lemon.

"How fast do you think you'll be able to create the compound?" He questioned her. His expression was firm and hard. Stony even. But his eyes were soft and trusting. "Do you think you can do it in ten?"

"I'll do it in five."

Tadashi nodded at her slowly, before he turned to the collection of men and women who were busily dodging Saru's fists and legs and bodily parts.

"We need to keep that thing away from Honey Lemon!" He shouted. "Taka and Hebi — you two need to distract that thing!"

"Aye, aye, mom." Taka saluted him from a distance. "All hail, Overlord Captain America. Shaggy and Scooby will do the distracting for zero Scooby Snacks." He paused, before he grimaced at the monstrous creature. "How the hell are we supposed to distract this thing? Can this thing even be distracted?"

"What about you and Hiro?" Hebi — she completely ignored Taka's dramatics and simply rolled her eyes at him — whispered suddenly from beside Tadashi as she grabbed onto the sleeve of his arm. Her expression was soft for once. It was such a strange expression to see on the girl's face. "Are you going to…"

"I'm going to try to get a good angle on that thing on Baymax." Tadashi explained. "It'll work out with less complications if Neko, Gogo, and I handled the injection ourselves." He reached over and lightly ruffled her hair. "I'll be fine. Besides you need to keep an eye out on Hi—"

"Oh no, you don't!" Hiro snapped from behind him.

"Hiro." Tadashi frowned as he turned towards the adolescent. His eyes darkened, and he seemed to channel Kitsune completely. "If you come with us, you'll only be a c—

"What?" Hiro scoffed, crossing his arms and smirking. "A complication?"

Tadashi stopped channeling Kitsune and was left to open and close his mouth wordlessly.

"_Yes…_" Tadashi said slowly, almost hesitantly.

"The way I see it," Hiro continued, tapping Baymax's head lightly, "you'd be the complication. I mean, I have experience with flying Baymax around and — believe it or not — I've fought mutant monsters with the others before."

"Hiro…" Tadashi said testily.

"And last time I recall," Hiro said, crossing his arms, "you're pretty shitty with roller coasters rides; and Baymax is comparable to the Dragster."

"One," Tadashi said thickly, almost darkly, as if he was once again channeling Kitsune, "swear jar. Two, I rode Baymax here."

"Yeah, but I bet you were about to pass out when you got off of him." Hiro quirked an eyebrow.

There was silence. And in that silence, Tadashi attempted to find a way to overturn Hiro's argument, but he found that he could not. He couldn't believe it. Hiro had actually managed to…?

"Alright, knucklehead." Tadashi sighed in defeat, before he shook his head. "You're right."

Hebi watched the exchange with a gaping mouth. Her Tadashi had actually been… defeated? She studied the one who had defeated the man with narrowed eyes. Hm… Yes… She would need to ask the boy how he did it.

It was strange though. She was certain that a couple weeks back l she would not have been so placid at seeing Tadashi — Kitsune? — being shot down. She would have been absolutely enraged, raving, screaming, shouting, kicking, hissing. But now…?

She watched as the older man clambered onto Baymax's back, watched as he seated himself next to Hiro, watched the entire thing without a drop of jealousy or bitterness. Strange. Perhaps all of this occurred because she had come to realize that Tadashi — Ookami, Taka, and Neko as well — cared for her, that she no longer needed to cling desperately to others in order for them not to abandon her. Right. She came to realize finally that she was no longer in the trials.

"Wait, Tadashi…" Honey Lemon spoke hesitantly, suddenly as she watched the Hamada brothers prepare to take flight.

The addressed turned towards her with raised brows. He assessed her, saw that there was no damage, and studied her with a slightly tilted head.

"Tadashi," Honey Lemon swallowed, before she gestured to the weapon he held in his hands, "we're going to have to inject the new compound into Saru and to that… I don't think…" She frowned, allowing her hand to fall back to her side. "That sword can't cut through organic matter, right?"

Tadashi's eyes widened at the realization, and he lifted the questioned weapon midway in the air. Hiro watched the thing's edge glint in the dim light.

"I completely forgot…"

There was a quiet pause, and then—

"Catch, Kit!"

— a flash of silver glinted in the settling debris.

Tadashi's eyes widened; and he plucked the glinting object out of the air just as it sailed above his head. He held it's stiff hilt in his hand and then flipped it almost acrobatically to get a better hold on the thing.

Hiro's eyes widened as he registered the object. It was an object that completely destroyed the concept of the thing Tadashi held in his other hand — the thing that Hiro had spent strenuous weeks designing, the thing that he had made so his brother would not have to…

His thought was cut short as Neko pounced into his peripheral view.

The woman was drenched in sweat, coated in grime, and covered in a thin layer of debris. Her slight pant indicating that she had been pouncing in a similar fashion away from the monster for a long period of time. She threw a glance back in the direction of the groaning thing as it nearly smashed Taka into a pancake as if to confirm the fact.

"Kit…" Neko finally managed as she caught her breath — her gaze was even, sharp. "Y'know very well as I do that you _can _save a lot of people, but ya _can't _save _everyone_."

Tadashi and Hiro stared at the woman for a moment. The latter _knew _what the woman said was true. He knew and yet…

Hiro's gaze shifted from Neko to Tadashi. He watched as the man's eyes narrowed, watched as the man studied the thin blade he held in his hands, watched as he sheathed the weapon Hiro had designed back into its case. Hiro's heart fell slightly at the sight of it. However, Tadashi soon turned to him and he smiled a tired but gentle smile that was definitely a Tadashi Hamada smile—

"I don't want to ruin your newest invention on the first trial — that's something that you'd do, knucklehead."

"Hey!" Hiro snapped, eyes narrowing.

"Now how about we get this thing in action, huh?" Tadashi cocked his head as he patted Baymax's back almost lovingly. "My wonderful robot—"

Hiro recoiled at the sight as did Hebi. Neko simply cackled.

"Thank you, Tadashi." Baymax clipped. "Your compliments will be recorded in my databases."

Before Tadashi could say anything more, Hiro slammed his foot against the contraptions controlling the robot's thrusters; and the brothers and the robot took off to the sky.

"You can do it, Honey Lemon!" Hiro shouted over his brother's sudden scream.

The trio then swept the premises. They stopped by each of the individual men and women who were dodging Saru's relentless attacks and filled them in on the plan. Said men and women more or less accepted the hastily thought out thing, although several of them appeared exasperated at how casually the brothers seemed to be handling the dire situation. After delivering their message to the designated people, the brothers took off to the air once more.

Honey Lemon watched them at their feat for several minutes, before she roughly shook her head and focused on the matter at hand. She kneeled down on the rubble, unlatched her purse, and laid it on the ground. She studied the buttons and nodules on the thing as her mind went spinning.

Honey Lemon had never felt so stressed in her life. Sure, her organic chemistry final had nearly caused her to rip out her hair on several occasions; but it hadn't been anything like _this_. Everyone was relying on her.

Was that excitement or nausea building in the base of her stomach?

She didn't know. She didn't know the answer to that question. But she knew one thing. She knew that she had to get this right.

"Don't stress yourself, alright, lady?" Came an almost angry snap several feet away from her.

The blonde woman looked up and found a scowling Hebi glaring down at her. She glanced around the area. Where had Neko gone? Honey Lemon had been so entrapped in her own thoughts that she had not even noticed the woman disappear.

"If there's one thing I've learned from your lose— your _group — _it's how to be clingy." Hebi snapped, arms crossed, wires wrapped tightly around her arms; she pointed squarely into Honey Lemon's face. "I'm gonna stick to you like a fly on wallpaper, and I'll keep that freak away from you, so you just focus on that crap, alright?"

Honey Lemon stared at her for moment which caused her face to redden considerably. Then, the woman moved forward and wrapped the adolescent in a tight hug. It was startling for the latter to say the least.

"Thanks! That's exactly what I needed to hear!"

And the hug was gone as quick as it came.

Hebi was left to stare incredulously at the woman as she rapidly tapped away at the nodules on her glowing purse.

…

The brothers rode side-by-side on Baymax's back and flew through the air in a circle. Hiro caught a glimpse of their reflection on the black screen of the generator, and he couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. He wondered briefly if Tadashi saw it too.

Turning his head, he observed his brother's form.

The man was rigid, tense, battle-ready. His dark eyes scanned the moving mass below them. Everything about him screamed 'Kitsune' but—

— Hiro knew.

Hiro knew that this man was definitely his brother. He didn't know how he knew. He just did. Afterall, even Kitsune had been his brother all along, hadn't he?

"I feel like Tinkler's anatomy class won't help us in this mess." Tadashi mutters, allowing his gaze to sweep past unidentifiable body parts. He clicked his tongue in annoyance — a trait picked up from Kitsune, Hiro decided after searching his memories.

"Good thing I skipped that class a lot then." Hiro chirped, earning a look from Tadashi. "I'm kidding, jeeze…. maybe."

Something suddenly caught his eye. A flash of blue beneath a thick layer of white. A vein.

"'Dashi—"

"I see it."

…

Meanwhile, Gogo and Neko ran along the ground and together dodged Saru's wild thrashes. Gogo was, of course, much faster than Neko which in turn led to Neko getting the brunt of the attacks. The woman stumbled in one of her dodges and tripped over a small yet heavy slab of rubble. She cursed to herself internally as she saw the thing lunge at her.

Before the thing made contact, however, a flash of yellow fluttered across her peripheral view. She soon found herself knocked to the side just as the thing's arm came down on her. She skidded to a stop several feet away and grimaced at the flattened area where she had once stood.

"Wake up." Gogo snapped at her. "It's only going to get rougher."

"Rougher…? Well, fighting this thing," Neko laughed wryly in response, panting, "at least makes me feel like less of a monster."

Gogo studied her with a frown.

"Looks like you're the mouse in this one." Gogo finally agreed with a slight nod of her head.

Neko started at her response and turned to look at her. When she registered the woman's response, she let out a loud laugh.

"You're right!" Neko wiped a tear from her eye. "I'm not the tom cat anymore, am I?"

"You're better." Gogo clipped at her in response. "You're a lioness."

Neko studied her with raised brows, before something blue caught her eye.

"Hey, I dunno much about bodies and anatomy," Neko smirked, raising her hand and pointing at something on Saru's globular body, "but I think I just found what Kit was telling us to look for…"

….

Honey Lemon couldn't believe it. She was…

… Done?

She gazed in disbelief at the two large soccer-ball-sized orbs she held in her hand. They glowed with a strange yellow light.

"I'm done…" She breathed, earning Hebi's full attention.

"You're done?" The adolescent snapped, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.

"I'm done!" She exclaimed, hopping to her feet and gazing almost adoringly at the things she hugged tight to her chest. "Guy's, I'm done!"

"Hear you loud and clear, Honey Lemon!" Hiro shouted as he adjusted Baymax's thrusters and hurtled towards the area where the woman stood.

"Aye, aye, doll!" Neko called from beside Gogo's rapidly darting side, before she too began to make her way across the rubble towards the woman.

Honey Lemon held one orb high so that either Hiro or Tadashi could sweep down to grab the thing and one orb low so that Neko could swipe it quickly in a dash.

"Be careful, you guys!"Honey Lemon exclaimed as she winced at how clumsily Neko and Tadashi snatched up the large orbs. "They're unstable! They haven't been catalyzed with fire yet!"

"Got it." Tadashi nodded back at her, before Hiro's directions sent Baymax and themselves hurtling towards the area directly above Saru's heaving body.

Neko nodded as well, before she made her way over the rubble to join Gogo at her side. She prepared to hand the orb to the woman, when a sudden shout caught her off guard—

"Not to rush you guys or anything," Wasabi shouted as he dove sideways to dodge a whip of skin, "but could you guys hurry up?!"

"I second that motion!" Taka called, dodging the same whip of skin that Wasabi had dodged. "This Clayface guy is either getting larger and we're getting smaller!"

Neko grimaced as she dodged the same whip of flesh that came hurtling towards her in an arc. Tucking the orb to her chest, she doubled over into a roll and managed to miss getting smacked senseless by just a hair.

"We're tryin', Takabaka." Neko winced and rubbed her sore knee which she had awkwardly fallen on, "but it's kinda hard to get an angle on this thing."

Hiro and Tadashi who soared above the moving mass had to agree. They could see their targeted area, but the area kept shifting back and forth — moving left and right. Getting an accurate aim on the thing was impossible.

"We need to stop this thing from moving!" Hiro shouted over the thing's groaning cries.

"Hebi!" Tadashi snapped almost immediately.

The adolescent started at the shout of her name and craned her head up towards the ceiling. She squinted at the tiny figures circling the monstrosity before the realization that Tadashi had been trying to get across to her finally hit its mark. Her eyes widened.

"Yellow chick!" Hebi called loudly, tossing her wires into the air. "Here, catch!"

Gogo caught the thick of it as it sailed over her head. Without skipping a beat, she grabbed onto one end of it and began to run circles around the humanoid thing. Around and around she went, burning a rivet into the ground with the soles of her disked feet. When she reached the end of the rope, she paused and sent Hebi a look.

Hebi frowned uncertainly in response before Ookami, Tako, and Wasabi ran to her side and grabbed the end of the rope which she held. Their sudden presences by her side made her start in surprise.

"Go for it, Gogo!" Wasabi shouted, tightening his grip on the wire.

And Gogo went. She backtracked several feet, wrapped the wire around her body at exact angles and rounds, before she dashed forward at full throttle. There was a slight groan and a quiet hum as the wire straddled against the ground, before a squeaking sound hit the air as it was pulled tight.

Saru groaned and shifted his enormous weight in an attempt to free himself from his bindings. Needless to say, several of the men and women were surprised that he still had any consciousness left to do so.

Gogo grimaced as her dash turned into a struggle to run in place. The wire tightened around her body. Those who held the other end of the wire were also beginning to struggle. The soles of their feet dug into the ground, but for a moment their feet seemed to be too weak of an anchor to hold the mass of flesh down.

Then, almost miraculously, Saru lurched forward. Tripped. His upper bodily mass flew over his bound feet and he hurtled towards the ground. He hurtled towards it — but it seemed as if he was hurtling towards it in slow motion. At least, it seemed that way to Tadashi.

_He's so slow_, the older Hamada thought.

"It's now or never!" Tadashi shouted suddenly, before he came to a stand on Baymax's back.

They were hovered several feet above the targeted area at this time. Hiro was trying his best to direct Baymax to a fixed position above the target, so he did not notice the man's shout at all. No, he didn't even register what the man had said until the man had leapt off of Baymax's back and dropped downwards towards the heap of flesh.

"Tadashi!"

Tucking himself into a tight ball and holding the orb tight to his chest with one hand and his blade in the other, Tadashi landed on the arc of Saru's deformed back and began to skid down the slope of it. Thrusting his blade-wielding hand outwards, he dug the weapon into Saru's skin and used the friction between metal and flesh to slow and stop his fall. A waterfall of crimson followed his descent. Grimacing and blinking the droplets of red out of his eyes, he heaved himself onto a fold in the skin, ripped the blade out of Saru's back, and drew the thing crosswise against the deep gash that had already been drawn.

The "x" marked the area that had once been a river of buried blue.

As Tadashi was busily doing this, Neko ran to the other blue vein that was located near what could only be semi-identifiable as Saru's left leg. She pounced on the thing, dug deep into the area with her knife, cut out a full circle, and then shoved the yellow orb into the pit. It liquified upon contact and caused her to wince and jump back in surprise.

Several yards above her, Tadashi was doing a similar thing. Gripping the hilt of his blade tightly in his mouth and holding onto a lump of flesh for leverage, he forcefully shoved the yellow orb into the sunken hole of red that he had created in the thing's flesh. This yellowness too liquified upon contact. The heat of it burned his skin and sent him reeling backwards in shock — reeling backwards right off of the thing's back.

For a moment, Tadashi was floating in free air. No, he was plummeting. In the next moment, the whir of machinery reached his ears. In the moment after that, he was dangling from Hiro's tight grasp several yards above the ground. The older Hamada stared at the younger in surprise before he smiled sheepishly. He received a sigh of relief in response.

"Please hold on tightly for safety." Baymax chimed.

"Fred, _now_!" Hiro shouted above Saru's cries.

"Time for Fredzilla's time to shine!" Fred shouted loudly, excitedly, as he launched himself in the air and faced the thing head-on. "Fredzilla Blaze!"

Fire erupted from the mouth of the man's suit and spiralled towards Saru's groaning and fallen form. It enveloped Saru in his entirety — a flash of yellow, red, orange.

The sight of such colors sent Tadashi's head spinning. It took every inch of power within in him to grasp Hiro's own grasp tightly.

The flames dissipated as Fred landed on the ground and revealed a singed Saru who was — much to the horror of the others within the room — still very much alive. More than alive. The burns and blackened spots on the man's skin began to be slowly consumed by new pink flesh.

"It didn't…" Ookami shook her head incredibly, before she was suddenly cut off by Honey Lemon's shout—

"Wait for it!"

And then the newly grown pink flesh began to bubble. No, Saru's entire form began to bubble. Smoke steamed off of the man's skin; and the entire area surrounding him began to burn with intense heat. The heat increased ten-fold and then twenty-fold and then—

— letting out a crude and horrid scream, the thing that was once Saru thrashed to a stand. He thrashed to a stand, before he once again — he first let out what sounded like a sigh of relief — hurtled towards the ground. His body cracked against the debris-littered floor and, much to everyone's surprise —

— the floor crumbled beneath him, and he was swallowed by the darkness below.

Those on the ground managed to scramble to the edges of the room to avoid falling into the black pit below. They were left to gaze into the blackness in awe.

"I feel like there's a really good pun for a moment like this," Tako mumbled, "but I really can't think of one."

"Talk about cliche," was all Hebi had to offer.

Tadashi and Hiro too gazed into the dark abyss.

Smoke was steadily filtering out of the thing and clogging up the air within the room. The sight of the spiraling grayness once again sent Tadashi's head spinning. Nausea, disgust, confusion. All it took was the faint scent of burning flesh to knock him out of consciousness.

His vision faded, his head lolled, and his grip on Hiro's hand loosened. And with the loosening, his fingers slipped right through the adolescent's small hands—

"Tadashi!"

— and he hurtled downwards like a limp rag doll into the darkness below.

A second ticked by.

_No._

And then another second.

_Not this time!_

And without even thinking, Hiro launched himself after his brother and grappled for his brother's form. His fingers laced around his brother's wrist, and the jerking motion that it caused snapped Tadashi to consciousness. His eyes flew open, and he registered Hiro's determined expression. He registered Hiro's determined expression, before his own expression morphed into one of utter horror and confusion.

"You knucklehead, you could've used Bay—!"

Tadashi swallowed his words and wrapped his arms around Hiro's form.

Hiro's eyes widened.

Another embrace.

Just like before.

_I'm just repeating… my mistakes…?_

They disappeared into the darkness.

…

They fell to the floor below with a soft thud. Rather, Tadashi had landed on the floor; and Hiro had landed on him.

There was silence and then a groan.

Hiro shook off the layer of debris that had collected on his black head. The action didn't seem to have much of an effect. The steady rain of debris was endless. His helmet must have been taken off during the fall — or so Hiro figured.

He paused. His eyes widened.

The fall.

_Tadashi._

Hiro snapped his head upwards off of his brother's chest and stared down at his brother's blank expression in horror. He could almost feel the warm wetness on his hands again. He could almost see the pool of crimson pouring out his brother's stomach.

Shaking his head in horror, he scrambled off of his brother's body and shook him roughly, almost desperately.

And then—

"Talk about deja vu." Tadashi grimaced, slowly pulling himself into an upright sitting position. He raised his left-hand which gripped Neko's blade tightly. "And this is why, little brother, _I _wield the swords — not you."

There was no blood. There was no wakizashi sticking out of his brother's stomach.

_I did learn..._

"'D-D-Dashi…" Hiro choked out a sigh of relief.

He couldn't get much out else, because he was soon battered with smacks across the back of his head.

"What were you thinking, knucklehead?!" Tadashi exclaimed, before he winced and held his chest in pain. "Ugh… What have you been eating? Did you gain weight…? I think you cracked my rib cage or something."

Hiro was torn between scowling angrily and tearily apologizing. He could do neither, however, because something soon gained his attention. It was a bodily mass lying several feet away from them that seemed to also have fallen from the floor above. His eyes widened at the sight, before they softened almost sympathetically.

Tadashi followed his gaze and found himself gazing at the quietly breathing form of Saru. The man looked as he had several hours earlier, albeit weaker, less clothed, tangled in wires, and fragile.

"So he survived…" Tadashi mumbled. "Honey Lemon really is amazing."

"Yeah," Hiro agreed, rising to a stand, "she is."

Tadashi watched him with a quirked brow that quirked even more when Hiro offered him his hand. He then laughed a weak laugh and extended his hand out to accept the younger's offer. But the younger jerked back abruptly and suddenly. The action was so abrupt and sudden that it took Tadashi several long moments to register what exactly had happened. Even Hiro was confused by his own actions. It wasn't until he looked at his shoulder and saw the stream of red trickling out from a crack in his armor that he realized that he had been shot.

"Hiro—!"

Before Tadashi could even scramble to his feet, however, Hiro was soon swept away by a dark figure. He was swept away and entangled in the shadow of a thin yet surprisingly strong arm.

"Ah, I'm glad that you've come for the final chapter."

Tako.

Hiro prepared to fight back against the man's grasp, to kick the man in the shin, to tear the man to pieces, but all that preparation was for naught. It was all for naught, because he suddenly felt a pinch of cold press against his head; and that pinch of cold seemed to drain all the fight out of him. His heart stopped in his chest, and his mind reeled.

It seemed as if the universe was trying to get the three of them alone together all the time. The universe was a pretty shitty matchmaker, Hiro realized.

Here they were, however. Standing alone like all those times before. But something was different this time.

The last time the three of them were together like this, Hiro was certain that he had not been bleeding from a bullet-sized wound in his shoulder. He was certain that Tako hadn't been pointing the gun square at his head either. And he was absolutely sure that his brother had not been wearing such an expression either—

Hatred. Pain. Fear. Panic.

His brother wore all those expressions as he clutched his chest and panted heavily.

"Tako." Tadashi said slowly, carefully, frighteningly. "Let Hiro go."

"I don't think I can, Fox." The man murmured, swaying from side to side and pressing the nozzle of the gun deeper into the adolescent's temple. "I need to see you in agony one last time. No… I need to see what kind of human you really are. Yes… I need to see that. I need to see the complex character behind your mind. I need to know how your story will end."

"You're a fucking psycho!" Hiro hissed between his teeth. "It's over already! There's no point in doing this anymore!"

A laugh.

"Who said there was a point in doing this in the first place?" Tako asked simply, before shooting a predatory look in Tadashi's direction. "Haven't you ever done something terrible just because you wanted to? Just because you could? Oh, Fox, I know you have done such things before — that you've always wanted to do such things. This whole Doubutsu business just gave us all the opportunity — the push — to do so!" He blinked down at Hiro and added, "You too, my Alice — no, my Hiro. A complex human like you would definitely…" He trailed off, clicked the gun.

"Don't…!" Tadashi shouted, his voice becoming raw. He stumbled forward but paused as he saw the man's finger move towards the trigger of the weapon. His eyes widened, and he took a step backwards. "P-Please," he whispered, his voice breaking, "please don't."

"How unlike you, Fox." Tako frowned, tilting his head; he suddenly grinned pleasantly again. "Ah, how about this?" He paused, kicking a large shard of fragmented glass across the floor and to the man. "How about you kill yourself here and now, Fox? In exchange for Hiro's life, you will end your own."

There was a pause of silence as the man's request settled down into the atmosphere. The shard of glass glinted in this quietness like a star.

(_If he slid the glass held in his hands into the gash in her throat it would be a perfect fit_.)

Tadashi's head spun as the past and the present clashed together within his mind. He was spiralling down rapidly — just when he had thought he had begun to get a grip on his situation. Before he reached the pit of this spiral however, a voice rang out clearly—

"Don't you dare do it, nii-san!"

Tadashi froze; and his gaze snapped up from the gas shard and towards Hiro.

The adolescent's charcoal gaze burned brightly like it was on fire. Strength, determination, wisdom — all of those things and more sparked in his irises. Needless to say, Tadashi was taken aback at the sight of such things. It was then that the older Hamada reached a striking realization —_ Hiro was grown up now_. _He grew up without me. _

"Sh, Alice." Tako clicked his tongue as he dug the nose of the gun deeper into the adolescent's skull. "I want to see Fox struggle with this decision."

Hiro winced as the metal pierced his skin. The pain was sharp and stinging, but he did not allow his gaze to leave his brother's face — his brother who looked so hopeless and defeated. Hiro knew his brother was stronger than this. He just needed a little push, a little nudge in the right direction.

Something suddenly caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and a thought occurred to him.

"Nii-san," Hiro said slowly, firmly, fearlessly, "you remember what you always told me? Look at it from a different angle!"

Tadashi's eyes widened.

"So, what do you say, Fox?" Tako grinned. "What will you do…?"

A pause. A wry sigh.

"Alright." Tadashi nodded slowly, firmly.

Tako's expression brightened like that of a child's on Christmas Day. It was such an unsuitable expression for the man; and it was also a short-lived one.

"Alright, Hiro." Tadashi smirked. "I've seen the situation from all angles now."

A look of confusion passed over Tako's face. The man studied Tadashi's expression carefully and then Hiro's. He couldn't comprehend how the two seemed so strong and confident despite their desperate situation. He couldn't comprehend it at all. Yes, there was no comprehension. Only confusion. Then, abruptly and suddenly, look of confusion on the man's face turned to one of utter shock.

The reason for this sudden change of expression?

A sound.

A loud banging sound that originated from just behind him.

Tako winced as he felt a sharp and painful prick at his neck. The wince morphed into a frown as the pain from that prick doubled tenfold. It had become so painful that the man was left with no choice but to release the adolescent to assess the pain himself.

Hiro stumbled forward in confusion, before he dashed to his brother's side — to his brother's open arms. He was welcomed into a warm, tight embrace that seemed to cause the pain in his shoulder to ebb away. And then came the kisses. The careful, powerful kisses that were planted desperately, forcefully onto his dark head.

"Hiro, Hiro…" Tadashi repeated his name over and over. "Hiro, are you okay, Hiro?"

"Yeah, nii-san…." Hiro whispered, burying his head into his brother's chest; he paused, before adding. "It's just a flesh wound. Baymax'll take care of it."

Tadashi forcefully pulled Hiro away from him and examined the wound in the younger's shoulder. He suddenly didn't look too convinced at the adolescent's former statement; and he prepared to scoop the adolescent up and run him to where his trusted medical robot was, before a shuddered gasp stopped him short.

The two brothers turned their dark head towards Tako who stood clamping a gushing wound at his neck. A bullet-sized wound.

The bleeding man fell forward and collapsed stomach-down onto the floor. As he fell, he cast a glance backwards to the darkness — to the area where the bang! had originated from. And out from that darkness emerged a familiar-looking man holding a billowing gun.

"Ah," Tako grinned almost serenely as he hit the floor, "foolish white rabbit, you were supposed to lead Alice astray and into Wonderland. Not save her."

"Oh, shut up." Usagi rolled his eyes as he stepped over the heaving man's body.

Tadashi and Hiro stared at the man wide-eyed, before the former rushed to the man's side while dragging the latter along with him. The older Hamada skidded to a stop before the large man and gave him a once over.

"I…" Tadashi shook his head. "Tako said that he…"

"Ever heard of a bullet-proof vest, Kitsune? The guy had too much pride to check if I was really dead. Jesus, by the way, it took me forever to work out where you guys were and what you guys were doing." Usagi grimaced, before he raised a thick brow at him with a quirky smirk. "Wait… you are Kitsune right now, right?"

It was then that they finally came.

The tears.

The tears from the fear of losing his brother, the tears from the strain of the day, the tears from remember everything he had lost, the tears from realizing everything that he had gained, the tears from being alive, and the tears from reuniting with an old friend — they all came spilling down Tadashi Hamada's face. His body shook and trembled uncontrollably—

"Usa…" Tadashi stammered helplessly as the tears continued to spill relentlessly from his eyes; he held his head and attempted to wipe the tears away, but they would not stop. "Usa… I… I thought you died…I…"

Usagi stared at the man he had come to know as Kitsune in confusion, surprise. This man who was crying, sobbing, stammering helplessly — was this really Kitsune? Or was this Tadashi? Emotions pointed towards Tadashi, but the firmness in the man's stance pointed towards Kitsune. After a moment of contemplating this question, Usagi decided that it didn't matter. He decided that it didn't matter at all; and with a small smile, he raised his free hand a gently placed it on the young man's dark head. It was a gesture familiar to both Tadashi and Usagi.

"Come on, Kitsune, you're choosing now of all times to get sentimental?" Usagi laughed, ruffling the young man's hair.

"He's right, nii-san…" Hiro laughed weakly. His own eyes were beginning to prickle for some reason; and he blinked rapidly in an attempt to dam back the tears (tears from being strung on the rope between life and death, tears from the fear of losing his brother again, tears from the past few months that he had been holding, tears from finally, finally, finally getting his brother back, and tears from the feeling of utter relief that was beginning to blossom in his chest); but then—

— a sob escaped from Tadashi Hamada's lips.

The sound was quiet yet sharp.

"And… oh god, Hiro…" Tadashi shook his head and turned to his brother, before he pulled the adolescent into yet another tight embrace. "I...I thought I was going to lose _you_, Hiro."

And then Hiro could no longer hold back the tears he had been holding back since his brother had entered the flaming building. They came spilling out like tidal waves that seemed to have no end.

"I… I should be the one saying that!" Hiro whimpered, stuttered. "I didn't want to lose you again, 'Dashi… I… Were you actually going to..?"

A pause.

"I promised myself that I wouldn't waste this life that Maya saved." Tadashi responded quietly, tightening his hold on Hiro's trembling form.

"Good." Hiro breathed in relief.

Usagi watched the two brothers with a small yet certain smile.

"We're really falling apart, aren't we, nii-san?" Hiro murmured finally, pulling away from the man and wiping the tears away from his eyes.

"Yeah, we are." Tadashi agreed, wiping the final tears away from his face. "But Hamadas are always good at putting things back together. If something is broken, it can always be fixed."

"That was a really lame dramatic line." Hiro raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, whatever, knucklehead." Tadashi laughed, ruffling the adolescent's head.

"Oh… So… You're… Havi..ng…this kind of ending, huh, Fox?"

The trio who stood in the light that cascaded down from the ceiling turned to look at the bleeding man who was shrouded in the darkness.

"You're still alive, huh." Usagi grimaced thickly.

Tadashi untangled himself from his brother's arms and slowly dragged himself — no, it was as if he was being forcefully pulled away from Hiro's side — to where Tako lay. He looked down at the heaving man and gave him an is different expression. Their eyes met; and while the man on the ground twitched his lips up into a smile, the standing man's lips stayed pressed into a firm line.

"You look pathetic." Tadashi told him tersely.

"Ah, I bet I do," Tako responded lightly, "but I must say that I'm enjoying what a twist your story has taken."

There was a pause of silence.

"Human beings aren't as interesting, complicated, and complex as you think." Tadashi frowned suddenly, observing the man. "Most of them lead simple and normal lives. Sometimes there's no deeper meaning behind their actions like how it's like in a book, Tako. You said it yourself. Sometimes you just do things because you want to." He shook his head. "I bet you've spent your entire life looking for that perfect story of yours — that perfect definition of humanity — when it's been so simple and right under your nose all along. It's sad."

There was silence for a very long time. And in that silence, Tadashi slowly unraveled the strings that fastened the black fox mask to his head. Once the strings slipped past each other, the mask slid off of his head and onto the white-tiled floor where it clattered with _click!_s and a _clack!_suntil reaching stillness. Then, without a second thought, Tadashi brought his foot down on the thing, and it shattered to pieces—

— _like flower petals_, Tadashi thought vaguely. _I wonder if there are genetically unaltered black flowers… I should've asked Maya… _

Hiro watched without wincing as his brother carried through the action. The action was carried through with such an air of finality that it surprised Hiro. It surprised him and took a strange weight off of his chest. Something within him felt alleviated.

And then Tako laughed, but it was a wry and humorless laugh.

"I don't wished to be burdened by your philosophies, Fox." He finally replied, eyeing the dapples of blackness that were scattered above his head. "I don't regret my actions in the least bit, because I _chose_ to do them; and regretting them would just be turning back on myself."

"And that's why you'll never develop as a character."

"Ah, but I'm a writer, Fox!"

A pause. Tadashi didn't respond.

Tako squinted up at him, and his dark eyes widened.

"Oh, Tadashi," Tako sighed, his lips twitching upwards once more, "is that sympathy I see in your eyes?"

And like that, the man was gone.

His eyes rolled to the back of his head; and his hand that clamped onto his neck wound slid away and flopped uselessly to the floor. In the mess of red, white, and black — like Tadashi's own colors — Tako laid with a pleasant smile.

"That pisses me off." Tadashi observed, narrow-eyed.

Hiro studied his brother's back unmovingly as he pressed down the wound in his shoulder.

It was then that the clambering of footsteps and the whirl of thrusters reached their ears. A mass of bodies clambered down from the gaping hole in the ceiling while others rode down in a pair of large red metal arms.

"Hiro," Baymax chimed as he touched down on the ground with Fred, Taka, Honey Lemon, and Ookami in tow, "you are injured. I will sterilize and tend to your wound immediately."

"That'd be nice, buddy." Hiro laughed with a wince.

The robot as well as the others who had descended to the floor ran to his side. Expressions of concern, confusion, and seriousness were mixed throughout.

"Dios mio, Hiro!" Honey Lemon whispered as she bent down to evaluate the adolescent's condition. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Hiro waved her off casually before shrugging. "I've been through worse. Baymax'll take care of it."

"'Fine'?!" Hebi snapped, looking the adolescent up and down. "You look like shit, Hamada! You need to get to the hospital or something!"

Before Hiro could retort, he was quickly pulled to the side by Baymax who just as quickly began to tend to his wound. While the robot was doing this, he finally managed to convince the others that he was perfectly fine and that they were stressing themselves out for a "simple flesh wound". He watched then as several of them sauntered over to Saru's unconscious form and watched the others rush desperately, excitedly to Usagi's side.

"Usagi! Is that you, Usagi?" Ookami shook her head incredulously as she skidded to a stop by the man's side. "_Where_ have you been?"

"Now, _that _is a long story." Usagi grinned good-naturedly, reaching over to pat Tadashi on the back. "Ain't that right, Kitsune?"

"Come fresh outta the rabbit hole, yeah?" Neko raised an eyebrow with a grin, before she thumbed Hebi who stood uncertainly beside her. "Your little snake here worried herself sick."

"I-I did not!" Hebi snapped, crossing her arms. "It was just creepily quiet without having you nag in my years all the time."

"I thought you were dead, to be honest." Taka interjected plainly. "I had a hole memoir written and everything."

"Good to see you alive and breathing!" Wasabi nodded at the man with a half-smile and lightly crossed arms.

"Yeah," Usagi raised his eyebrows at the man's appearance, "it looks like I missed a lot…" His gaze fell to the figure on the ground who lay several feet away from them. "Let's just say that I came in the knick of time though…"

Everyone within the room followed his gaze. They followed his gaze and found their eyes widening at the sight of Tako's still corpse. Several of them scrambled over to the deceased man's side and peered down at his form with varying expressions.

"Bastard got what he deserved." Ookami stated stolidly, studying his face for a moment before looking away. "A meaningless and unglorious death."

"Oh, but look at his face," Neko grimaced. "Takoyaki looks so peaceful. It pisses me off. He doesn't deserve to die so peacefully after what he did to…" She trailed off, narrow-eyed.

Gogo gave the man a once over before she turned her head and nodded in Tadashi's direction. He had a somewhat dazed look on his face like he was struggling to get out of a dream.

"How are you holding up, Hamada boy?" She asked.

Tadashi started at her question, shook his head, and rubbed his eyes. He then paused for a moment as if he had realized something and scanned the room almost desperately.

"Hiro…" He said, taking a step forward. "Is Hiro…"

"I'm fine. Jeeze." Hiro scoffed as he entered the circle that had formed around Tako's corpse. "Gambling with Yama was a lot more dangerous than this."

Tadashi's eyebrow twitched.

"Keiji…" Hiro mumbled, averting his gaze away from Tako's expression — it sickened him. He winced as a sharp pain shot through his shoulder. "Keiji... Tako shot him." His wincing expression morphed into a worried and troubled one. "He's still up there hurt!" He whipped his head around. "Baymax—-!"

"No need to worry yourself, kid." Usagi waved him off. "When I arrived a couple minutes ago, the police were already buzzing around up there. I dunno what you did but the media is buzzing about this place. It's the only reason how I knew you guys were holed up here." He paused, ruffling the back of hair. "Right now the good doctor is being taken to a hospital." He grimaced. "An _actual _hospital." He crossed his arms. "And then it's off to jail for him."

"The police are here?" Ookami repeated, her eyes narrowing; she surveyed those who stood around her, before she eyed Gogo tersely. "I think it's best if our group made our leave then."

There was a beat of silence, and then—

"Why?" Honey Lemon murmured, taking a step forward. "You guys helped us to expose all of these things, and—"

"Yes, we helped you." Ookami agreed, before she grimaced. "But before that, we exposed CASCO through… 'inhumane means' I suppose you could say. I doubt we'd be welcomed as heroes after people have realized what we've done to get that title. Everything about what we've done has probably been exposed already."

It was a truth that the five hero-scientists had been trying to ignore.

"B-But…" Hiro stammered, taking a step forward and staring desperately into his brother's face.

Tadashi avoided his brother's gaze. It was something he never did. Hiro had always had his full attention, his full attentiveness. But why now was he…?

"She's right, Hiro." Tadashi murmured. "We... can't go back."

Hiro's eyes widened.

Unbelievable.

"You… You _knucklehead_!" Hiro cried as he ran forward to his brother's side and slapped him _hard _across the face.

"Hiro!" Someone exclaimed.

"H-How can you even say that?!" Hiro cried, gripping the scruff of his brother's shirt tightly. "How can you even think that you're not coming back home?!"

There was utter silence.

Honey Lemon couldn't bring herself to stop Hiro because he was shouting out her exact thoughts — the others of the Six couldn't stop him for the same reason as well. Those of the Doubutsu Trials could not stop the adolescent either. The adolescent's expressions were too bright, too blinding. It was almost frightening.

"What about Aunt Cass?!" Hiro continued with a hiss.

Hebi watched as the adolescent gripped her Kitsune — no, the man was just _Tadashi _— by the scruff; and she found that she did not want to stop the adolescent in his shouts. She realized with confusion that she was not happy with the fact that the man was making a decision to say with her and the others. No, she was hurt, angry, sad. She was hurt, angry, sad because she realized that _Tadashi _was hurt and sad. She knew that the man _wanted _to accompany his brother and the six to his home — to his real home. She knew that, but she also knew such a thing was impossible. And it hurt her. The fact that Tadashi Hamada was going to be _sad _and _separated _from his family — his real family — hurt her. So, she bit her lip, turned her head, and listened to adolescent's shouts.

"What about the team?!"

Tadashi burned holes in the dark floor with his eyes as Hiro released his grip on his shirt..

"What… What about _me_… nii-san…?"

The older Hamada's eyes widened, and they snapped upwards to meet Hiro's gaze. And meeting such a gaze made Tadashi's heart hammer madly in his chest. The anguish and despair that he had been expecting to see was not there. No, something else burned brightly in the adolescent's eyes. It was… determination.

"We really need to go." Ookami muttered, crossing her arms.

"There's…" Usagi swallowed and jerked his head to the left. "There's a door just down that way."

"Well," Neko grinned a grin that did not match her eyes as she took a step backwards, "I guess… this is goodbye then."

"Thank you for helping us achieve our goal." Ookami said as she nodded at each and every one of the Six heroes. "I know for a fact that we would not have been able to do it without you."

The heroes' minds were still reeling with what had just occurred, so they could do nothing but simply stare at the woman.

"We'll stay in touch, yeah, Fred?" Taka questioned almost hopefully.

The addressed man's eyes were still on Tadashi's form, so he only grunted in response. But such a response earned a rare and bright grin from Taka.

"Cool."

And that was that.

One by one they — the 'animals' — filtered out of the room and left the 'humans' to themselves. Usagi was the first to go, then Ookami, then Neko — but not before she embraced Gogo in a surprisingly tight hug and whispered 'You remind me of her so much…'. Taka followed solemnly after her. Hebi was next. She seemed to struggle to leave. It was almost as if she had something she wanted to say. Something to get across. However, she left without a word.

And then there was only Kitsune.

"Stay out of trouble, alright?" The man finally managed after a long pause of silence. He added with a forced laugh: "And I'm talking about all of you."

No one mirrored his laugh. No one mirrored it because they were all thinking of an excuse to make him stay.

Honey Lemon played with the hemming of her purse. Gogo gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly. Wasabi studied the floor bitterly. Fred gazed at Tadashi's shadow somberly. Hiro and Baymax were the only ones to gaze at the older Hamada head on.

"Well…" Tadashi muttered, turning on his heels slowly. "I guess this is goodbye."

And he began to walk in the direction where the others were. They watched silently as his silhouette began to shrink in the distance. They watched silently, until—

— "None of us were paying attention to your mom talk, Tadashi!"

Hiro shouted such a thing at the top of his lungs.

"You're gonna have to tell us again, when you come home!"

Tadashi paused in his walk, turned his head, and continued walking again. In the next second, he was gone.

"Come on, guys," Hiro grumbled, turning on his heels, "we've got a lot of explaining to do."

The four men and women surrounding him exchanged knowing looks, before they followed in step beside him.

…

No one saw Baymax hobble over to Tako's side. No one saw the robot bend over and gently close the man's eyes. No one saw such a thing at all.

* * *

Final Encounter: Hamada (浜田)

...

"I... I want to go home."

* * *

**A/N**: Okay, so I've decided to make this thing 26 chapters long instead with the 26th chapter being an epilogue. Whew this took forever to write. The fact that I had a bio exam on Monday didn't help at all. The fact that I have a Chem quiz on Tuesday and a stats exam next Thursday (which I am totally and utterly screwed for, like I'm gonna watch Khan Academy videos. I'm that desperate) also doesn't help. Fml. I honestly should be studying instead of writing this but here I am.

I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors. I wanted to post this chapter ASAP to get it out of the way. I'll go back later when I have free time and fix this thing up!

Oh! By the way, did you guys know that this fic has its own TV Tropes page now?! o u o. I-I'm just so... surprised that people would make a page for this fic. It's wonderful! I'm blushing! Anyways...

Thanks to all those who followed and favorited! I have a 7:45am class tomorrow so I'm posting this chapter now so that I can wake up to lovely reviews at 5:30 am tomorrow. /winkwonk.

A big thanks to…

Random Reader 17: And now for the conclusion!

A Sky Bison: Aw, thank you so much for the awesome review. /blushblush. Yes, I must break the reader. I must break the characters. Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

teengens: Aw, thanks! And I sacrificed even more work to write this chapter so huzzah! I appreciate the thoughts!

wildanimelover: /winkwink. Usa is alive! and thank you for reviewing!

They are Immortals: Thank you for the ecstatic review! I'm glad you enjoyed i !

Romanorgers22: Thanks, friend! I have a big Neko/Tadashi interaction planned for the epilogue so hopefully that'll satisfy you xD.

Producciones Escudo: Glad you enjoyed, man! And yes, the end is near!

AshPhoenix284: Kitdashi is one of my favorites too /winkwonk. And I might add some Hebi and Hiro interactions in the epilogue!

Hope y'all continue to read, follow, favorite, and review! /winkwonk


	25. Hamada

**Fox-Face and Flames**

* * *

_Final Encounter_: Hamada (浜田)

* * *

They could still hear the whirring shrill cry of police sirens long after they had left the vicinity of the hospital. And they could still see the flashes of red, blue, and black from the rooftop on which they perched several miles away from the scene.

"They're still doing the do, huh." Taka said, unimpressed, as he teetered dangerously on the edge of the building. "Y'know, I think that I've always secretly wanted to be some kind of cop or something — like a secret covert cop. Like Batman, not Sasori. Sasori has some screws loose and—

"You're going to fall." Tadashi called to him despite the fact that he too was at the edge of the building. He sat with his legs loosely dangling over the thing and his hands gripping the thing's edges for support. "And, while Hebi _is _fast with her wires, gravity is much much faster — trust me."

"Look at you," Usagi teased from beside him as he raised a brow, "being all sciencey. Gonna get a patent for something with that?"

"If I could," Tadashi responded slyly, a hint of what Usagi could only assume was Kitsune (or maybe it really was just Tadashi) shining through, "I'd get one for common sense and I'd donate it to Taka."

"Taka." Taka repeated his name suddenly with a frown as he peeled back from the edge. "That sounds way too much like 'Tako' like what the fuck. Usually main characters get really cool sounding names that sound nothing like other people's names."

"Are you sayin' you're a main character, Takabaka?" Neko asked amused as she leaned against the frame of one of the rails that lined the roof. "Sounds like Takoyaki talk to me."

Silence fell at the mention of the name.

The wind lapped against the side of the building and creeped along the building's grooves. A howling, wailing sound resonated.

"This sucks." Hebi grimaced, cross-armed. "How come even though we won, it feels like _we're _the losers or something?"

"Probably," Ookami responded thickly from her corner of the rooftop, "because we've lost more than we've gained."

Another lull of silence.

In the quietness, Tadashi suddenly found himself reminiscing about the past, about things he had said, things he had done; and he turned to Ookami with a slight smile and said:

"I'm not going to tell you that you're wrong. Losing and gaining are just intangible concepts after all… but, try looking at it from a different angle."

Ookami eyed him with an air of uncertainty.

In turn, he jerked his head towards the city below. Towards the flashing lights of red and blue. Towards — he thought for a brief and painful moment — home.

"Right now — right down there — everything CASCO has done is being exposed. The people that they've hurt, that they've killed, that they've experimented on — all of that is being laid out right in the open. A woman is getting justice for her sister. Present trials and possible future trials are being torn down. The people who 'disappeared' and the people who 'died' aren't just 'unfortunate accidents' or 'unsolvable mysteries' anymore. They're people."

Tadashi sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"What I'm trying to say is… that we've done good. Even if you consider this win small compared to everything else, it still _is _a win. Besides, now that this is done and over with… "

There was a pause in which all of those on the roof studied the quietly speaking man with expressions ranging from uncertainty to curiosity, from amusement to confusion.

"... you all can get back to what you had before all of… this."

Ookami threw her head back and barked out a laugh. It was so abrupt and sudden that _she _even looked rather surprised by the sound. However, she soon smoothed out her features and fixed on him a gaze that resembled motherly concern.

"You know well that we can't do that." She said. "Once the news circulates — of course, I'll acknowledge the fact that maybe we'll be temporarily praised as tragic heroes — but you know how people are. They love finding people to hate; and, needless to say, we've done plenty of things to garner hate. If it's not hate… then it's _that_." She paused, walked over to where the man sat, and blinked down at him with a frown. "At best, we'll be institutionalized. You left your _family _because you knew this fact… Don't tell me that you've forgotten again."

The final statement was said in a serious tone despite the oddity of it.

"No," Tadashi waved her off, "if anything, I'm doing some _remembering _right now."

"Then why would you even suggest what you said before?" Ookami shook her head incredulously, before her eyes narrowed. "That's incredibly insensitive and illogical of you." She paused, looking as if she wanted to continue on the train of thought, before she sighed. "At this point, I'm not sure whether that's like you or not like you."

Hebi prepared to hop to Tadashi's defense but stopped herself for a reason she didn't quite understand. It was probably because of _that_. _That _had been plaguing her mind for a while now. How sad Tadashi had looked when he had left Hiro's side, that is.

"From my point of view," Tadashi raised an eyebrow back at her, "it's neither, because—"

"I will do the explaining, my dear friend!"

The sudden and oddly voiced phrase was spoken by the man who had just appeared out from the doors that lead to the stairwell of the building. A strange man. A man who was adorned with both a lab coat and a trench coat.

"Sasori, how nice of you to finally drop in." Usagi grinned with slight amusement at the man's eccentric entrance.

In turn, Sasori turned to him with a slightly gaping expression, before he shook his head and brushed back his hair. Adjusting the hat that rested ever present on his head and scratching his chin he said, "And it was then that the man realized that his deduction was accurate. The rabbit man had been alive all along!"

Usagi laughed a laugh torn between amusement and befuddlement. Hebi scowled brightly, while Neko rolled her eyes and clasped her hands behind the base of her neck.

"Alright, Sasori," Ookami waved him off dismissively, "so, seeing that you're here, I assume that everything went well?"

"More than well!" The man exclaimed, spinning in a round circle and gesturing wildly to nothing once more. He paused then and pointed to the flashing lights of the city below. "Those lights you see there are the result of the combination of the duo detective skills of Sasori and Maeko Rice!"

"Alright, buddy." Tadashi smiled lightly as he approached the man from behind and patted him on the shoulder. "Let's get on track."

Sasori cleared his throat and nodded once, twice, thrice. "Of course, of course, my Kitsune friend. And the track states this — information on all of CASCO's diabolical misdeeds has been released. Sora Keiji is being held in the iron grasps of justice and awaits trial for his nefarious deeds. Maeko and I have just returned from a very lengthy interview — well, we have actually temporarily escaped. The police are currently on search for us, but that is fine!"

Tadashi's brow twitched slightly and his expression took on something akin to 'Kitsune-like'. His grip on Sasori's shoulder tightened, but the man did not notice this.

"Wow." Hebi responded bitingly with a slight roll of her eyes. "Thanks for telling us everything we know already."

"Sasori," Ookami sighed, tapping her upper arm with something akin to impatience, "get to the point." She side-glanced at Tadashi with a frown. "What is this about our families? Are they going to be reimbursed for what happened to us by CASCO?" Her eyes narrowed. "They're not going to be dragged into any of this, are they?"

"No, nothing like that." Sasori waved her off. "But if you count them now knowing about the fact that you are alive, then yes. Yes, they are involved now."

There was a pause as the two final phrases sank into the thin atmosphere. The phrases were so strange and so sudden that none could comprehend them fully for the first couple of seconds. After these seconds passed, however, the reaction sparked into heated shouts.

"What?" Usagi snapped, a rare expression of anger taking over his usually amicable face. "What did you just say?"

In an instant, Ookami was at Tadashi's side. In the next instant, her fists had curled around the scruffs of his black coat. She glared up at him as she lifted him high and pulled him close. He, in turn, gazed down at her with coolness.

"Explain, Kitsune." She hissed.

"I made Maeko promise to look into and contact your families, while she was deciphering the trial information," was his response.

"Dude," Taka shook his head, "not cool. Not cool at all. Like, we can't see 'em 'cause of what we did and that was shitty enough, but now they know that we're alive too? That's like the biggest 'fuck you' in the universe!"

Hebi was tempted to point out the fact that neither she nor Taka recalled their family members, but the atmosphere was so thin that she felt like she was walking on tightrope just by being there. That and the fact that she found that she could not justify Tadashi's actions caused her to remain moodily silent.

At this point, Usagi was practically fuming. "God damnit, Tadashi!" He balled his hands up into fists, before he closed his eyes and sighed out steadily. "Why in the world would you do this…?"

"Several of them are on their way right now, actually," Sasori interjected helpfully. "When I contacted them to inform them of your states, a majority of them jumped at the opportunity to see you here as soon as possible! Of course, a majority of them did not believe me at all at first, but once I told them of my certifications and of your traits — and after a multitude of re-calls — they accepted the truth." His statement helpfully added fuel to the fire.

There was another strained pause.

"Kitsune!" Ookami seethed with so much rage that her eyes began to prick with tears. "You, bastard! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I also asked Maeko," Tadashi continued calmly, "to delete all information regarding all of you in CASCO's databases."

Ookami paused in confusion and her grip on the man's clothing slackened. Usagi,who also looked as if he was about to tear across the rooftop and throw Tadashi right off of the building, recoiled and did a double-take. Taka simply shook his head in confusion and let loose a string of nonsensical words, while Hebi's furrowed brows raised in surprise. Neko, on the other hand, looked more amused than anything else. Their actions earned a short and abrupt burst of laughter from the Hamada; and he wiped a tear away from his eye, before he elaborated—

"There is now no longer any proof that any of you were involved with CASCO or the Doubutsu Trials." He smoothed out his shirt and side-glanced at those on the rooftop calmly, before he continued with a slight smile, "I know that we were looking for some kind of glorified justice where we made the world realize what CASCO did to us, but I thought that revenge would be decent for all of you even if your involvement isn't known to the universe."

"You…" Ookami drew out slowly, unsure of how to respond.

"You can call it 'running away' if you want," Tadashi shrugged, "and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't look like that, but it's only running away if you do it yourself. And I'm the one — no, Maeko had more of a hand in it than I did — who did the running away for you."

Ookami grabbed the scruff of Kitsune's shirt again and studied him — really looked at him. She shook her head and asked more to herself than anybody else, "Who are you?"

Tadashi simply smiled a smile that did not match his eyes. "Tadashi Hamada, of course."

Her grip on his scruff tightened; and she seemed to finally be able to find a way to respond coherently to these sudden developments. Shaking her head incredulously, she pulled him in close and prepared to speak when a voice cut through and above her own—

"Mommy?"

Ookami breathed in deeply; and her eyes widened, but they would not leave Tadashi's face. Tadashi's dark eyes would not leave the woman's face either. Everyone else on the rooftop, however, had their gazes trained on the two figures who stood in the doorway of the entrance to the roof.

A girl — she was no older than five of six — and a young man (hand-in-hand) stood frozen beneath the archway. Their eyes were trained on Ookami's form.

"You…" Ookami whispered with narrowing eyes that were just about to pool over with tears. "Selfish…"

"Sarah?" — it was the man who spoke this time in a soft, hesitant voice — "Is it… Is it really you?"

"Holy shit." Taka muttered, despite himself. His gaze flickered bath and forth from the two pairs standing on opposite sides of the roof. "Holy… shit."

"Do you think you can just…" Ookami murmured, pulling the man even closer to her and refusing to acknowledge the newcomers. "... pretend that this is okay?"

Tadashi didn't respond and kept on his unreadable expression. He then slowly, carefully, meaningfully shifted his gaze from the woman's face and towards the duo who still stood beneath the doorway. Unable to stop herself, Ookami followed his eyes with her own until she locked gazes with the young man and then the little girl.

The girl's brown eyes widened as their gazes met and her lips trembled just as Tadashi's lips had trembled hours earlier. "M-Mommy…"

And just like that, Ookami was lost. Her fingertips unlatched from the man's shirt; and she turned towards the doorway and towards the light seeping from it. Her face was fully unmasked from the darkness; and the girl could now fully register her face.

"Mommy…"

The confirmation was whispered, and the girl staggered forward. Ookami, unable to hold back any longer, staggered forward as well. That single word, that single phrase — it was unbelievable that that was all it took for her to lose herself. A single word that she had been longing to be called ever since—

"M-Mommy!"

And Ookami rushed forward, knelt down, and spread her arms wide. The girl rushed into those open arms which then enclosed tightly around her. She buried herself in the woman's chest, while the woman buried her face into the girl's chestnut hair. Ookami breathed in her scent and tightened her grasp and swallowed a sob.

"Yeah, it's me, honey." She whispered, running her fingers through the girl's hair. "It's mommy…"

The young man who was still rooted in front of the doorway unrooted himself from where he stood and dashed forward. He skidded to a stop where Ookami and the young girl sat huddled on the floor; and then he too sank down beside them and wrapped both of them in a hug that seemed big enough to embrace the world. A second later, he too was sobbing and was repeatedly murmuring a single word over and over again — "Sarah".

Tadashi observed them with a thin smile, while the others gazed at them with expressions ranging from surprise to confusion. As the former continued to gaze at the trio, however, he felt something begin tug at both his heart and his mind. Regret and a memory. The memory was first of his parents welcoming him home after his first day of school ("Welcome home!"); the memory that followed was of his first Christmas with Hiro and Aunt Cass — the first Christmas without his parents. And he began to recall how Aunt Cass had embraced them in such a similar fashion.

_I guess I used Aunt Cass's hug as the framework for Baymax's hugs… She always had the best hugs, didn't she?_

Tadashi shook his head.

_No, I can't waver now. Don't be pathetic. You've already made up your… _

"Holy shit." Taka repeated, taking a step backwards and averting his eyes from the scene. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes and sniffled and then coughed. "Just… holy shit, man."

Hebi simply bit her lower lip nervously and rubbed her arms unconsciously — because of the cold or because she felt as if she was about to lose something? She didn't know which.

It was then that the young man who was embracing both Ookami and the little girl looked up and registered the surrounding group. Tightening his grip on both the woman and the girl ever so slightly, he frowned at them all. Before he could say anything, however, Ookami — no, Sarah — raised her hand and cupped his cheek.

"Don't do anything stupid, Tom." She whispered in such a soft voice that for a moment she did not seem like Ookami at all. "They're acquaintances… friends."

Sarah untangled herself from both the girl and the man and came to a stand. She pulled the girl close to her and wrapped her in her arm while she reached out and held the young man's hand. She then looked from Taka to Neko to Hebi (who bit her lip and stared and the younger girl) to Saru to Usagi and then finally to Tadashi. She blinked at him once and then dipped her head ever so slightly.

Her actions caused Tadashi to start slightly, but he kept his expression even.

"Mommy…" The girl sniffled, tugging on Sarah's arm. "I… I want to go home…"

Something once again twinged painfully in Tadashi's chest.

Sarah glanced down at the girl before she brushed away the strands of hair veiling her face. She frowned for a moment; and Tadashi could literally hear what she was thinking —

— 'After everything that's happened — after everything that I've done to get to this point — is it really alright if I…?'

"Mommy?"

And that was all it took. Just that single phrase. A couple of months earlier and Tadashi would have thought that such a thing was pathetic.

'_Nii-san?'_

Tadashi shook his head roughly and rubbed his eyes.

"Alright, honey, let's go home…"

Sweeping the young girl up in her arms, Ookami allowed the confused young man Tom to guide her to the exit of the rooftop. The others stared after her with varying expressions; and she glanced over her shoulder to look at them, at the people who had gone through the very same thing as her, at the people who lost with her, at the people whom she now viewed as her friends — no, her _family_…? How ridiculously sentimental.

Her lips parted as if she wanted to say something, but then she closed them and simply smiled. A moment later, she disappeared down the staircase and left heavy silence in her wake.

"O...Ookami?" Hebi whispered in confusion as she took a step forward and peered into the darkness of the doorway; she bit her lip and shook her head. There was a look of utter hurt and betrayal on her face. "She…?"

Taka sniffled loudly and pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. Saru and Neko, on the other hand, both wore unreadable expressions.

Usagi sighed and ruffled his hair, before he barked out a laugh. "Not even a goodbye, huh?"

"Goodbyes are meaningless," Tadashi replied evenly, brushing off his shirt once more and falling into place beside the man, "if you know you're going to see a person again."

"And yet you said goodbye to that Hiro kid. Your brother, right? Your friends?" Usagi questioned, his eyes lingering on the doorway as if he was anticipating someone else's appearance; he tapped his foot impatiently — no, nervously. "Are you just saying something hypocritical again or did you not…" His eyes narrowed and then widened as some sort of realization dawned on him. "You…?"

Tadashi smiled thinly. "I can tell that you're literally bursting with excitement. Your son, right?"

"Kitsune." Usagi whispered, turning to the young man and peering into his face. "You did not do what I think you did." He paused, placing a hand on the Hamada's shoulder and squeezing. "Tada—"

"Dad?"

Usagi was so close that Tadashi could see the man's pupil's dilate. So close that he could see the man's brows raise and his eyes widen and his lips twitch ever so slightly. Once again Tadashi allowed his gaze to shift from Usagi's face to the doorway. Usagi followed his gaze just as Ookami had.

It was a trick that he'd learned from his childhood days; and it was a trick that Hiro himself had picked up. A dirty trick.

"Dad…"

The young man who now stood beneath the doorway whispered such a thing in a breathless voice. It was quite evident that he'd been running.

Tadashi studied the panting young man as did Usagi. And the former came to notice the similarities the young man had to the latter, while the latter acknowledged the similarities the young man had to the former. But Usagi was so overcome by seeing a face he had longed to see for months that he was not able to ponder any further on the matter.

"He does look like he has a good baseball arm," Tadashi mused, before he patted the man on the shoulder. "Make haste."

Usagi did not move. The young man at the doorway did not move either.

"Don't worry." The Hamada continued. "I didn't do what you think I did so don't worry about me. Enjoy yourself, old man."

And that was all it took.

_And Hiro said I was bad at lying._

Usagi briskly walked forward, grabbed the frozen young man, and pulled him into a hold that was so tight that if circumstances had been different Tadashi would have assumed the Rabbit was trying to choke the man. But the circumstances were not different, and the frozen young man melted in Usagi's arms.

"...d-dad."

It was a quiet whisper, a quiet whimper.

And for a moment, Tadashi found himself thinking of his own father. He wondered briefly if he would react in the same way as the young man if his own father miraculously came back from the dead. Something in his chest once again twinged painfully.

"I'm so, so sorry, Blake." Usagi whispered in a husky voice that seemed to be several steps short from quavering.

"I…" The young man, Blake, swallowed as he buried himself into Usagi's shoulder. "I… When I got the phone call… I didn't believe… I thought it was just some sick, twisted joke… but I didn't want to not believe that there was some way… I told myself I'd let go but I couldn't stop myself — Oh god! Dad—"

And for a moment, Tadashi saw in Blake's place Hiro's shaking form.

_Did he look like this when he realized I was Kitsune…? Ah, I can't remember… _

The Hamada then came to register Blake's wrought expression. There were so many creases, so many folds, so many emotions twisted onto one tear-soaked face.

_I don't think I can ever forgive myself if that was the face that he made at me._

_But didn't he make a face just like that before you entered the fire? Before you told him 'goodbye'?_

_Stop. You can't waver now._

— "I… I… missed you so, so, _so _much."

_Didn't Hiro and Aunt Cass — no, everyone — say the same thing to me when I came back?_

'_Welcome back from the dead, Hamada boy,' Gogo had said evenly as she punched him lightly in the arm._

'_I got you a thing!' Honey Lemon had shouted, gently placing the thing in the man's hands. 'I wanted to pay you back for the phone case you gave me a while ago. I thought 'why not get him a fox-themed keychain'?!'_

'_Dude,' Fred had grinned, handing him a stack of papers, 'you're the secretary for the comic club, remember? And the work has been seriously piling up. I've been trying to get Taka to — oh, wait, nevermind. I said 'Taco' not 'Taka'. Who is this Taka person? Who knows? Certainly not the Fred.'_

'_I helped organize your desk back at the lab,' Wasabi had told him as they were making their way to the institute. 'I gotta say, man. You really need to learn how to color code.'_

'_Tadashi,' Baymax had said in its usual mechanical tone as it helped him out from his bed, 'you must take care to exercise your joints and muscles. You programmed me to guide health developments to help prevent weakened immune systems by advising against unhealthy behaviors.'_

'_I made your favorite dish!' Aunt Cass had sung to him as she placed a platter of the golden delight in front of him. 'Much better than that hospital mush, if I say so myself!'_

'_Tadashi…' Hiro had murmured on the first night after he had awakened from the coma. "I mi…"_

'_Yeah?' Tadashi had questioned, inclining his head. He had stared at Hiro then and was unable to discern the strange look of maturity that flickered across the younger's expression._

'_I'm just glad you're still a nerd.' Hiro had finally scoffed after the pause of silence. 'You'll make me look better in front of anyone else without even trying.'_

Those were the words that Hiro had said that night, but Tadashi knew now the truth hidden behind those words. No, he had known the truth behind those words ever since Hiro had covered them up with his usual arrogance. Those three words—

— '_I missed you.'_

_Stop. You can't think about that now. Kitsune, you've made your decision. The right one. The logical one._

'_I miss you.'_

"_**STOP!"**_

Tadashi was shaken out of his thoughts and back into reality by the shrill shout. He blanched as he registered that Hebi was now grasping Usagi's free arm with both of her hands. The man at this point was halfway through the doorway with Blake on one side of him and Hebi on the other.

_What in the world?_

"Dad?" Blake whispered in confusion. "Who is she? Who are these people?"

"Hebi." Tadashi said coolly as he quickly made his way over to the struggling trio. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and sighed quietly. "You need to let him go, Hebi."

"No!" Hebi snapped back at him so harshly, so angrily that he almost recoiled (she had never shouted at him before). She didn't allow her gaze to become pried away from Usagi's form by Tadashi's voice. Instead, her gaze on the man became even more focused. "You can't go, Usagi! Ookami already left! S-She's gone! That's enough leaving for today! If you leave then everyone else will leave too! T-That's so…" Her voice broke painfully. "... so _cliche_… !"

_I really did a selfish thing, didn't I?_ Tadashi realized, before his gaze softened and his grip on Hebi's shoulder tightened ever so slightly; he murmured, "Hebi—"

"Listen, little snake." Usagi sighed with a grin as he knelt down beside the fuming girl. "I have a family to return to just as much as you have a family to return to it. This opportunity… after everything that's happened… it's like godsend."

Hebi shook her head furiously and held onto Usagi even tighter. "No. No. We just got you back. You can't leave."

Once again, despite the increasing hysteria of the situation, Tadashi found his mind wandering to Hiro.

His precious otouto had reacted this same way… hadn't he? Back when they had fallen several floors after Tako had revealed himself as the traitor? Back when he as Kitsune had finally accepted the role of Hiro's older brother, Tadashi Hamada?

'_You can't die! You can't give up now! Not when you're you again!'_

The memory came in such vivid waves that for a moment Tadashi almost lost himself.

"And I don't need some crappy family that I don't even remember!" Hebi hissed viciously. "All I need are you guys! You guys are my family!"

And the admission was finally released leaving Hebi wide-eyed, breathless. Her entire body seemed to tremble; and Tadashi was made to recall the time when he had first encountered the young girl. Back during the trials.

The weak, trembling girl.

No, not weak.

Hebi definitely was not weak.

He couldn't dare betray her and to think of her as weak especially after she had managed to bring back a fraction of 'Tadashi' during the days of the trial.

"Listen, Hebi…"

— It was Neko who spoke now. She had unlatched herself from her from where she had been standing from the corner of the building and was now standing beside Tadashi with hands on hips. There was a smile that did not match her eyes plastered onto her face; and it was evident that something other than the situation at hand was troubling her, but she nonetheless maintained the facade—

"You said we're family, right?"

"I said it…" Hebi stammered with a slowly reddening face. "But that doesn't mean that I mean it. I mean it's so cliche…"

Neko brushed her off with a laugh."Ya gotta understand that it's not being together all the time that makes you a family."

_Yeah, _Tadashi found himself thinking despite himself, _but it would be nice if… _he stopped the thought before it reached completion.

"Ya gotta let your old man here to get his feet back in the ground." Neko continued, ignoring Usagi's comment of 'What's with calling me an 'old man'?'. "I know it may seem sudden but ya can't just make someone who needs to go stay, doll. That'd be selfish, and that ain't love."

Hebi would still not let go and instead gave the very confused Blake a biting look. He shifted nervously under her gaze and kept glancing at Usagi for assistance. But Usagi's eyes were glued onto Hebi's face.

"Always so selfish," Usagi grinned, reaching over and ruffling the girl's hair.

And for some reason Tadashi thought the man was speaking to him instead of Hebi.

"It's not like this is the end." Usagi continued, pulling away. "So need for dramatics."

Hebi looked as if she were prepared to say something more; but before she could do so, Tadashi forcefully turned her around and pulled her into a hug. She struggled for a minute, before the Hamada's hold tightened; and she, fisting the creases of his shirt in her hands, bitterly relaxed.

Tadashi, feeling a strange and warm wetness begin to leak into his shirt, blinked down at her and then blinked up at Usagi. A quick jerk of his head towards the door signaling that if any time was a perfect time to go, it was now. Usagi nodded back in turn and then looked from the Hamada to Hebi to Neko to Sasori and finally to Taka who was still sniffling rather loudly and looking away. Words began to form on his lips, but after a minute of pondering, he turned his head and tightened his hold on Blake and said,

"See you later."

And then he was gone.

Hebi pulled away from Tadashi's hold and glared up at him through a haze of tears. Tadashi, familiar with receiving such glares, simply wiped the tears away from the girl's eyes and sighed,

"That's such a hateful look for such a little girl."

The remark caused Hebi to glare even more; but then she reached a point where she found that she could no longer glare and she buried herself in the man's hold. Tadashi sighed again before he patted the girl on the head.

"You're such a crybaby like Hiro."

Neko observed him with a suspecting gaze but did move to speak.

"Oh god. Oh shit."

Taka broke the silence and blubbered such things as he rubbed his eyes and pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.

"This is too much man. Too many feels."

Tadashi raised his bowed head up and peered at Taka's face. Hebi pulled away from Tadashi's chest and gazed at Taka with a contempt expression. The only hint of the fact that she had been crying was the slight redness around her eyes.

"Ew." Hebi stuck her tongue out at Taka's tear-soaked face and averted her gaze. "You look you need like ten-thousand tissues."

"D… Dude, y-you can't blame me." Taka stuttered, turning his back to them all; he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes and grumbled. "This shit is almost like Titanic-level feels, like I feel like I'm letting Jack go even though I said 'I won't let you go!' And shit man, there was enough space on that door thing for the both of them."

"Aw, Takabaka," Neko grinned as she approached the young man and wrapped an arm around his neck, "look at you, bein' all cute and emotional."

"Do you not have a soul, woman?" Taka snapped back at her a bit defensively as he turned on his heels. He paused, pointing at Tadashi and then at Sasori. "I know that Kitsune here doesn't do feelings 'cause he's got that whole 'I'm a super angsty anti-hero thing going on'—"

Tadashi's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly but his expression revealed nothing.

"— and Sasori is just plain weird." Taka continued, not noticing Sasori's slight recoil; he pointed to Neko with an air of accusation. "But you should be doing something like 'Oh, this is so touching. It touches me right in my feline heart!'."

Neko cackled and pulled Taka closer to her. "Aw, Takabaka, ya feelin' shy or somethin'?" She paused, her smile fading; and she glanced up at Tadashi with somewhat narrowed eyes. "And the only reason I ain't bawling my eyes out is because something smells fishy here…"

Tadashi stared back at her evenly.

"I'm not feeling shy. I'm just feeling feelings." Taka huffed, putting his sunglasses back on.

"Aw," Neko cooed again playfully, "who knows, Takabaka, the next people up those stairs might just be your guys."

The statement made Taka jump and Hebi tense.

"Oh, hell no." Taka shook his head and wiped his face on his sleeve. "I am not letting you all see me all emotional and sobbing — like that shit is embarrassing."

"Would you like me to point out that we've already seen you emotional and sobbing?" Tadashi questioned, amused.

Taka opened his mouth and then closed it. He then unravelled himself from Neko's neckhold and paced towards towards the stairway exit. Grumbling to himself as usual, he began to step over the threshold when Hebi suddenly ripped herself away from Tadashi's side and dashed to his side instead. She grabbed Taka's wrist tightly, almost desperately, and peered into the man's shaded face.

"W-Where are you going?"

"Hebi…" Neko sighed in exasperation. The amusement had died away from her eyes; and all that was left in her expression was exhaustion.

Taka blinked down at Hebi's contempt expression and mumbled several incomprehensible words, before he finally cleared his throat and said,"You gotta understand, Hebi. I can't let you all see a cool guy like me balancing on the tightrope between angsty Batman-ness and Superman-level angstiness — like it'll ruin my image. And that's more of Kitsune's thing."

Tadashi's eyebrow twitched again.

"So I was going to meet whoever my folks are downstairs." Taka continued, before he grimaced and averted his gaze. "I'll be less of a mess that way. I…" His voice broke suddenly, and he sniffled. "If you guys are there when my old folks are there… I… I don't think I'd have the resolve to go with them. I'm not strong like Ookami and Usagi, and I don't really remember what I had before all this either, dude, like shit man."

Tadashi felt something in his chest crumple.

"You guys are my fam." Taka continued, unable to stop himself. He turned his head and pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose but found that they were no longer useful in covering up his tears. "B… But those people — they're my fam too, and I don't remember them but shit. Shit, I want to go home — like I am so one-hundred percent done with this anti-hero, stabby, stabby, stab business… I… I just want to…"

… _go home._

_Stop._

And Tadashi suddenly found himself standing beside Taka and embracing the man tightly. The man was several inches shorter than him and was taken by surprise as he suddenly found his face buried in the Hamada's shoulder.

"There's nothing shameful about having feelings." Tadashi murmured to both himself and Taka.

"No shame about wanting to go home either." Neko added quietly.

"W-Woah… dude." Taka stuttered. "What's with all the mushi-gushiness. You were supposed to be the angsty one in our group."

"And you were supposed to be the shameless happy-go-lucky one." Tadashi noted, pulling away from the man. "But here we are."

Taka wiped away the tears that stained his face and grumbled to himself again. "Well… I still want to be alone, yo. Like, it's weird having spectators."

"Right, right." Tadashi laughed.

Taka paused at the sound and eyed him strangely, before he allowed his gaze to fall onto Hebi's form. The girl had averted her gaze and was now standing with her hands balled into fists. Her expression, although sour, was one of bitter acceptance.

"Dude, Hebi." Taka raised a brow. "Do you wanna hug?"

"No!" Hebi snapped indignantly, crossly. "The only hugs I need are from Tadashi." But the way she said it did not sound very convincing.

"Alright then." Taka shrugged before he eyed Neko and Sasori questioningly. While Sasori simply raised his hand and shook his head and said something along the lines of 'Hugs may very well be the bane of all evil(?)', Neko dashed over and wrapped Taka in her arms with a mischievous grin.

"I'll miss ya, Takabaka."

"Right back at you, Nekogeko."

"... making nicknames is my thing, doll."

"Right."

And now Taka was once again stepping over the threshold of the doorway exit. His foot was just about to alight on the first step downwards when all of a sudden, he was pulled backwards once more. This time he was pulled backwards into a tight, vice-like hug.

Hebi.

He was soon released; and he was left with the strangest sensation of melancholy as he watched Hebi saunter back to Tadashi's side. He opened his mouth to say something just as Ookami and Usagi had done before him, before he decided better and closed his mouth. Instead of speaking, he simply turned his head, gave a small wave, and descended the stairwell.

The four remaining on the building's roof watched as his back began to slowly disappear in the darkness.

Hebi bit her lip and averted her gaze again, before suddenly—

— BANG! BAng! Thump!

The four started at the sound and prepared to dash down the stairs to come to Taka's aid when a grumbling echo drifted up from the groaning staircase—

"I'm good. I'm good. These stairs are out to get me though like who the hell puts a 'Watch out. Don't trip' sign right in front of the stairs like this is some secret assassination shit."

Tadashi and Neko sighed in unison. Sasori, on the other hand, mumbled something about his theory of 'stairs secretly being government-trained assassins' being correct; while Hebi mumbled to herself and hid her face.

The Hamada blinked down at the mumbling girl, before he smiled gently and placed his hand on top of her head.

"Talking to yourself isn't really a sign of good mental condition."

Hebi jumped at his voice and turned towards him. She was biting her lower trembling lip; and Tadashi knew that she was doing this in order to try and hide the fact that she was once again on the verge of tears. Hiro had always done this kind of thing, so Tadashi had grown accustomed to picking it out.

"I…" She mumbled, grumbled. "You're going back to Hiro and the others, right?"

Tadashi felt his heart skip a beat with the asked question, but he smiled and nodded nonetheless.

"That's right, Hebi. And you are going to go back to what you had before this too—"

"But what if I don't want to?!" Hebi snapped, pulling back from him. "You can't just decide for everybody like that!" She bit her tongue; and her eyes widened as if she realized she had said something unforgivable; but then she shook her head and stomped her foot indignantly. "I… I always say you're right, but this time what you're doing is…"

_Selfish? _

_Probably._

"You shouldn't be surprised." Tadashi sighed, before he smiled apologetically. "I've always had a selfish streak. Sorry."

"Sorry?" Hebi repeated, shaking her head; before she bit her lip and whispered, "Let me… Let me stay with you and Hiro and the others."

"Hebi." Tadashi frowned.

"I don't need some family that I don't even remember anymore." Hebi continued, reaching up and grabbing onto Tadashi's sleeve. "There's no way that I'm just going to go back to them and everything is going to miraculously be okay. No, that's just way too cliched. I… I want to go with you."

With softening eyes, Tadashi bent down so that he was level with the girl and gazed at her steadily. She returned his gaze with determination. This determination, however, quickly morphed into an indignant wince as the Hamada flicked her in the forehead.

"Ow, Kitsune!" She winced, rubbing her head and frowning at him with an expression of betrayal.

"You already know what it's like to live with me." Tadashi said, placing a hand on the girl's head. "But you don't know — well, you don't remember — what it's like to live with your real family. You've got to go for these new opportunities and experiences, Hebi—"

"But you…" Hebi swallowed. "You and everyone else _are _my real family!"

"You know what I mean, Hebi." The Hamada murmured with slightly furrowed brows; and his expression suddenly became Kitsune-like . "If you go with me, you have to be sure that you won't regret it later. Regrets are the ugliest things in the world."

"There's no way that I would regret," Hebi huffed, "spending the rest of my life with my dear Ta—"

But Tadashi's gaze was no longer glued to her face. No, it was now glued to something behind her. Something in the direction of the stairway exit. Something that stood in the doorway of the exit. No, not something. Two _people_. Two lone figures hand-in-hand — eyes-glued to Hebi's rigid form.

"No." Hebi bit her lip angrily and shook her head; and she gripped Tadashi's sleeve tightly. "I'm not going to look. I _don't_ care."

"Sasha…?"

One of the figures whispered the word out with a quiet gasp.

Hebi shook her head, and her grip on the Hamada's sleeve tightened. "No… What… What if they hurt me, Tadashi? What if they're just like… _him_?"

And Tadashi found himself staring at the small, whimpering girl whom he had encountered during the trials. The one who clung to that abusive trash of a man like he was her only lifeline. And, once again, something in his chest crumpled.

He put his other free hand on her shoulder and pulled her close to him. Running his fingers through her hair and feeling her warmth seep into his body, he whispered to her in a quiet voice as he observed the man and the woman who stood trembling by the door:

"Hebi, turn around and look at them, and tell me if those people look like they want to hurt you."

He slowly released her then and pulled back. Her eyes widened at this gesture; and she began to reach for him again when the word was once again repeated—

"_Sasha…_?"

A pleading, quiet, begging voice. A voice that Hebi could no longer resist. And she did not. Following the instinctual need to respond to such a word — to such a tone — Hebi turned and faced the two figures who stood idle by the door.

A mousy woman with an aged face that was lined with wrinkles from too much worry. A plump man who looked as if his entire being was about to give out then and there. Although the two were vastly different in appearance, they suddenly came to share a slew of similarities as they laid eyes on the girl. Expressions of recognition, and then of disbelief, and then of such overwhelming joy that Tadashi once again felt something in his chest twinge uncomfortably.

"Sasha."

Hebi stood frozen and wide-eyed.

Tadashi frowned slightly at this and pushed the girl forward. One step was all it took. One step, and she found herself suddenly embraced in two pairs of warm and shaking arms. Yes, they were shaking arms; but they were also very firm. Firm and warm; and oh god, Hebi realized that she actually preferred such an embrace to Tadashi's own because such an embrace felt so much more familiar and…

No, no, no.

The tears that spilled from her eyes would not stop; and she lost herself in the holds of the man and of woman.

"I think it'll be best if you take her now," Neko said quietly, before she gave a half-hearted grin. "Doll's had a hard day… A hard year."

It was the mousy woman who responded to the woman's drawl; and she blinked up at her pensively, distrustingly. Her gaze then shifted between Sasori and then Tadashi. She frowned. "Who are you people?"

"Check the news in a couple, doll." Neko winked at her, before she nodded at Hebi — no, Sasha. "Or you could wait till she's ready to tell you herself. I don't think it'll be good if you hear it from us. But basically, we've been watchin' out for the doll."

The woman said nothing in response and merely pulled the whimpering Hebi closer to her. Protective fierceness radiated from her body and, for a moment, Tadashi found himself thinking of Aunt Cass.

He had encountered her in the cafe before he recovered his memories, hadn't he?

Yes, it was still a blur, but that definitely did happen.

And as he began to recall that encounter at the cafe, he also began to recall how she had acted when he had returned. How her eccentric strictness and careful kindness remained a constant. How she had gingerly plucked this glass shards out from his hand on the day he first came across Maeko. How she did not restrain him from doing the things he wanted to do.

There was really no way to describe Aunt Cass. She was just… 'Aunt Cass'. Her kindness, her care, her understanding. She had always just been…. 'There'. Ever present. To this day, he had never had the opportunity to repay—

_Stop._

Tadashi returned his attention outwards to the scene — to the mousy woman.

After exchanging some words and looks with the burly man, the woman helped hoist the now dazed Hebi onto the man's back. The girl mumbled something, shifted her head. It was evident that she wanted to say something — to address Sasori, Tadashi, and Neko — but the exhaustion from the day had reached its pinnacle, and a strange sensation of relief and contentedness had suddenly taken over her. So, in the end, she could do nothing but gently rest her head on the man's — no, her father's — firm back and close her eyes.

The trio descended the stairwell without even looking back. With a strange mixture of envy and contentedness, the remaining three stared after them. They continued to stare at the doorway long after the family had disappeared into it. They continued to stare despite the heavy silence that seemed to weigh down on them. Staring at that entrypoint — no, that exitpoint — was much more important than conversing at the moment.

Who would appear next?

Who would leave next?

Only one knew the answer to that question

"And then there were three." Tadashi said good-naturedly, turning to the face the other two. "I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't feeling pathetically sentimental at the moment."

Sasori laughed mirthlessly, while Neko stared at him steadily. The woman's gaze was so intense, so sharp, so predatory that for a moment Tadashi thought he was standing back in those white hallways once more.

"Neko." Tadashi frowned, approaching her. "Are you alright?"

The woman's gaze darkened further."You can't fool me, Kit; and you definitely can't distract me with cute little heartwarming reunions.

Tadashi's heart skipped a beat.

"What are you talking about?" He frowned in response; and then his gaze darkened. "I don't enjoy senseless accusations."

"Tadashi." Neko sighed with an air finality. "Stop it." She took a step closer to him so now they were only half an arm's length apart; and she leaned in close and pierced him with her sharp gaze. "Stop it, and look me in the eye, and tell me that tonight you're going home to Hiro — to your family."

Tadashi opened his mouth and sent her the most indifferent gaze he could muster; but his words caught in his throat, and his gaze would not harden. He closed his mouth and averted his gaze.

"Talk about one hell of a detective." Sasori muttered, evidently not reading the sudden heaviness of the atmosphere. "Have you ever thought of working in an investigatory firm with Maeko and I? I mean, I proposed the idea to Maeko earlier tonight actually, but—"

"Shut up, Sasori." Neko and Tadashi snapped in unison.

Neko then took another step towards Tadashi and shook her head incredulously. "You told Maeko not to delete your information from CASCO's servers."

Tadashi held his ground. "Yes, I did." He subconsciously clenched and unclenched his fists. "You know as well as I do — and I'm sure after everything settles down, Ookami and Usagi will realize it too — that someone needs to act as living proof — as a witness — to everything CASCO has done." He shook his head. "The databases are proof, but there's needs to be more supporting evidence. It's the logical thin—"

"Logical?" Neko laughed a short, clipped laugh; before she stalked off to the edge of the building and ran her fingers through her hair. "Are you trying to channel Kitsune now, Tadashi Hamada?"

"I am Kitsune," Tadashi replied with narrowed eyes, "just as much as I am Tadashi Hamada."

"Of course!" Neko scoffed. "You're both, right? No wonder. No wonder you're doing such a selfless, selfish, stupid thing."

Selfish.

That keyword stood out to him.

Strange. Although people had always considered him as Kitsune to be selfish, he was always called selfless as Tadashi.

"You know that someone has to step up, Neko." Tadashi replied evenly, not allowing his voice to waver. He paused, gesturing to himself. "And I'm a college student attending one of the best universities in the countries — that fact alone will make people more sympathetic and accepting to me, and the things that I've done."

_The unforgivable things._

"What?" Neko raised an angry brow, as she crossed her arms with a grimace. "Are you tryin' ta fluff up your own ego now, Kit?"

"No." Tadashi shook his head incredulously. "I'm just saying that of all the people in our group, I'm probably the one who'll be punished the least if I go out there and speak the truth. There's Hebi, but she's… She's just a kid." His voice almost cracked, but he maintained his composure. He too crossed his arms and closed himself off. "Like I said, it's the most logical route."

"Yeah?" Neko scoffed. "And what about Hiro? Your aunt? Your friends?"

There. There was the thing that Tadashi had avoided thinking about all day.

And his heart twisted in unbearable angles as he finally allowed his mind to drift towards them.

_No. Stop. Don't waver._

"They can manage without me." Tadashi answered her evenly as he tried his best to channel everything that made him Kitsune. He shook his head and stepped forward. "I know what you're thinking, but you need to trust me. Someone needs to—"

"Someone needs to help?" Neko finished his sentence for him, before she threw her head up in the air and laughed loudly. "And who are you helping exactly?"

Tadashi blinked at her strangely. "Every person who's been affected by this!"

"And how are you helping your family and friends by doing this?" Neko snapped back at him. "How the hell are you helping Hiro?"

Again, his heart ached.

And he could not help but picture Hiro's frowning — no, sobbing, tear-stained, whimpering — face. Oh god, all he'd been doing recently was making Hiro cry.

When he'd run into the building during the fire, Hiro had cried.

When he'd been revealed to Hiro on that day at the police station, Hiro had cried.

When he'd taunted Hiro on that rooftop on that cloudy afternoon, Hiro had cried.

When he'd whispered to Hiro as they lay among the rubble that he wanted to die, Hiro had cried.

When he'd laid motionless on that hospital bed, Hiro had cried.

Had… Had Hiro cried when they had parted ways earlier today?

Tadashi found that he could not recall. He could not recall the last time he made Hiro cry. And a sudden realization came over him:

_I'm a useless older brother._

Again, the stabbing sensation weighed down on his chest.

_I'm a useless older brother, so the least I can do is be a decent human being._

"I... I don't know." Tadashi found himself saying as he shook his head. "But I know that doing this is the right thing. All the people that have been doing the trials since we broke out — someone needs to hel—"

"Don't even try that with me." Neko hissed, before she shook her head. "In the end — geeze, you might not even realize it but — Kit, what you're choosing do right now… You've gotta realize… you're doing it more for yourself than anyone else, aren't you?"

Tadashi froze at her words.

_Selfish._

The word had been swimming around in his head all night.

_Selfish._

_Selfish._

_Selfish._

_Selfish._

Because in reality, he still was ashamed and afraid and disgusted with himself. And even though he knew fully well that Aunt Cass, Hiro, and the others would accept him no matter what, he could not help but picture their averted gazes, their sympathetic looks, their hesitant expressions. He was a murderer after all. And, in all honesty, the reason he'd been so willing to give himself up so easily was because — despite everything he had said and come to terms with — truthfully he was—

"You're running away, Kit."

And suddenly, a thin sliver of silver sliced through the cold night air and hurtled its way towards Tadashi's neck.

* * *

The day was torn between remaining nighttime and reaching for morning when Hiro finally returned to the Lucky Cat Cafe.

Aunt Cass was waiting for him at the front of the Cafe; her eyes were half-lidded, but her expression was creased with emotion. When she registered the ding-ding of the doorbell attached to the entrance, she leapt to her feet and rushed over to him. He was, at this point in time, free from his usual purple armor; so she easily embraced him in a tight and warm hug.

The other members of the Big Hero Six that filtered into the cafe gazed at the two Hamadas were varying expressions. Baymax, who was not able to portray any expressions on its white face, padded forward and wrapped its warm arms around the two forms.

Aunt Cass laughed a bit at the gesture and allowed herself to be pulled into the warmth; she paused, however, halfway through her hug when she realized that there was something missing from the picturesque moment. And she began to pull away from her nephew's hold in order to search for her other nephew, but Hiro's grip on her tightened; and she felt her heart shatter into pieces.

_No. Not again—_

However, Hiro then said calmly,

"He's coming home, Aunt Cass. I promise."

The words were said so firmly, so certainly, that Cassandra Hamada knew that those words were certainly the truth. In turn, she sighed a bit in exasperation and pulled him closer to her, saying, "Good, because you two knuckleheads have a lot of explaining to do."

She untangled herself then and brushed her hands onto her pants leggings. She gestured widely into the cafe — to the table in the corner that was set with food.

"I thought you'd all be hungry after all that super-heroing stuff you've been doing so—"

Fred whooped and charged for the table. A disgruntled Wasabi and a hesitant Honey Lemon followed him. Gogo lingered by the side of the two Hamadas as did Baymax. And because they lingered, they did not miss how Cass gently rubbed Hiro's arm and whispered quietly to him:

"I'm staying up and waiting for him with you, honey."

* * *

Tadashi instinctively reached for his holstered blade and whipped it out in a great arc. The ring of metal against metal whined loudly as the hurtling object of silver was deflected. The silver sliver rebounded and whipped out into the night where it was swallowed whole by the darkness.

The Hamada barely had enough time to lower his weapon before he was once again met with a sliver of silver. This time the color was guided by a sturdy hand that was coupled by a pair of furious eyes. Grunting, he quickly lifted his blade up again to parry the blow.

Silver slid against silver.

Sparks flew and lit up the cold night.

And with the brief light, Tadashi was able to register Neko's expression. Such a sad, twisted expression — it surprised him; and he mistakenly lowered his guard. In that brief opening, the woman lunged forward and cracked her forehead against the Hamada's own forehead.

Tadashi stumbled backwards at the dizzying pain. Blindly, he raised his blade — ready to defend himself. The thing reflected his opponent's expression; and once Tadashi himself registered the expression, he found himself lowering his weapon.

"You're a selfish idiot, Kit." Neko murmured, fists balled, as she closed the distance in between them. "A selfish idiot!" She grabbed him by the scruff and pulled him close. "You're leaving your family and friends behind for some silly ideal of yours?"

"It's not some silly ideal!" Tadashi snapped back at her despite himself; he gripped her hands that were holding his shirt. "Someone needs to—"

"Say that one more time and I will smack you senseless!" Neko muttered darkly. "Someone needs to help? Yeah. Someone needs to stand by and help Hiro and your family — your real family — get through this mess! But here you are deciding things on your own because you are one selfish bastard!"

Tadashi opened his mouth, but he was cut off before words could even form.

"Look me in the eye, Kit." Neko said steadily. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you are not going to regret this selfish decision of yours. That you don't want to go home to Hiro, your aunt, your friends."

And Tadashi met her glowering, intense gaze that seemed to radiate out in the darkness; and he found that he could not respond.

Pathetic.

She loosened her grip as she registered his furrowed brows and his lips that were pulled into a firm line.

"I do." Tadashi muttered quietly in defeat. "I do want… I want to go home. I want to go home, to see Aunt Cass and Hiro again, to hang out with everyone at SFIT, to pretend that none of this ever happened — but I-I can't."

"Don't bullshit with me." Neko smiled thinly. "Of course you can. Call it running away — that's what you called it, didn't you? — but… What was it you used to always say? Opinions and ideas or whatever are just—"

"— intangible ideals anyways." Tadashi murmured. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair and did his best to hide his expression of shame. "But… what's done is done."

Neko bit her lip at the phrase and allowed her hands to release the young man. "Kit…"

"What done is done. I agree with that statement."

— the phrase was said by a voice that was unfamiliar to Neko but familiar to Tadashi and Sasori. And the phrase was followed by clipped footsteps.

Neko, Sasori, and Tadashi turned their heads just as a figure dressed in pure navy stepped out from the threshold of the exit and onto the cement of the rooftop. A short crop of black hair and long lashes that sprout from pale, heavy lids—

— Maeko Rice, looking as calm and indifferent as ever, now stood before them. Her dark gaze was focused solely on Tadashi and Tadashi only.

"By Zeus!" Sasori exclaimed in an exaggerated form a surprise. "How in the world did you find us?!"

"It was not hard." Maeko replied without sparing him a glance.

"So this is the Maeko Rice I've been hearing about…" Neko mused with raised brows. "What a cutie." But her comment went unnoticed.

"Tadashi Hamada — or should I say Kitsune, the one who killed my sister."

— Maeko, saying such a thing, took several careful steps forward—

"When you requested that I keep your information in the databases, I will admit that I felt some satisfaction. Although I said that I knew you were not entirely to blame for the occurrences regarding my sister's death, I could not help but hold a grudge."

Tadashi gazed at her evenly with an expression that could be deciphered as acceptance or understanding. Registering such an expression, Maeko came to a stop several feet away from him and continued to speak.

"I am not one easily swayed emotionally. However, once I saw the video recordings regarding Trial 5b of the Doubutsu Project, I could not help but feel my buried hatred for you increase."

Tadashi's expression changed ever so slightly at the statement. Amusement? Acceptance? Understanding? Hurt? It was hard to tell what the change was.

Neko, on the other hand, visibly frowned at the woman's words; but she did not move to speak.

"And I thought to myself — how could someone be so shameless as to ask me to help them destroy the life my sister used her own life to save?"

Tadashi tensed at the accusation; and a feeling of utter shame bubbled up inside of his chest.

_She's…_

_She's right. I didn't even stop to think… No… I knew but I…_

He lowered his gaze and observed the cracks lining the rooftop floor.

_Maya… you must be so disappointed in me._

"So I decided. I will not let you waste the life that my sister used hers to save."

The Hamada frowned in slight confusion at the statement; and he blinked up to meet Maeko's even gaze. But the person he saw giving him such a gaze was not Maeko — rather, it was Maya. As pretty and small as always.

"I did not follow through with your request, Tadashi Hamada." Maeko continued, sliding her hands into her pockets. "Your life is my sister's life. And I will not allow it to be wasted."

Tadashi blinked again; and the illusion of Maya was broken.

"You…" He tried carefully, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. "My files — you didn't…?"

"I deleted all files regarding Tadashi Hamada, test subject: Kitsune, from CASCO's databases." Maeko nodded. "The world now only knows you as Tadashi Hamada."

And as that phrase was spoken, the remnants of the mask that Tadashi had been discretely wearing over his face ever since the night began — no, he'd been wearing such a thing way before this night, hadn't he? — crumbled away; and his knees gave in. If it were not for the fact that Neko swooped in and acted as his crutch, he would have collapsed then and there.

"Woah now, Kit." Neko grinned amused as he peered into the young man's face. "Cat got your tongue?"

"That doesn't even make sense." Tadashi found himself chuckling weakly. Shaking his head, he looked up at Maeko whose expression was distant as always; and then he bit his lip and ran his free hand over his face. "Maeko… I… _thank you_…" He shook his heavy head again. "I was about to make a—"

"Mistake?" Maeko finished for him; and her lips twitched upwards ever so slightly. "At least you have admitted it."

Tadashi smiled weakly; but then a sudden realization occurred to him, and his frown returned, and his eyes narrowed. Looking somewhat frustrated, he bit his lip. "Still… CASCO… someone needs to go in and—"

"I'll do it." Neko sighed with nonchalance.

Tadashi froze at her statement; and he untangled himself from her form, before he gazed at her incredulously.

"Neko, n—"

"I'm not like the rest of you." Neko grinned a cheshire cat's grin that seemed to match the amusement in her eyes. She paused and stretched her arms out and tilted her head to the side. It almost looked as if she were embracing the night. "I honestly don't got a family or anything to return to; and no, I'm not bein' all — what did Taka call it? — angsty like you used to be. I'm bein' honest."

Tadashi shook his head and reached out for her. "Neko—"

"It's Fumiko actually." She continued. "Fumiko Honda, estranged daughter of the Honda family and a useless older sister." She paused, turning to him and gesturing widely. "The only person in my old life that considered me family was my precious little sister, and I've been tryin' to fool myself into thinkin' that she's still alive after that accident — which I'll admit now is completely my fault." She nodded in Sasori's direction. "Just ask Sasori over there. No one from my family answered when you called, right? And those that picked up didn't care?"

Sasori opened his mouth to speak loudly but then simply shook his head with crossed arms.

"Neko…" Tadashi shook his head. "Fumiko, look. There has to be another way. We just haven't thought of it yet. If you… If people find out that you—"

"That I'm a murderer?" Neko continued to grin; and then she shrugged. "It's not a lie. And I don't really care for what they think nor what they do."

"But I do." Tadashi stated, resisting the urge to shout; he reached for her again, but she pulled back. "I can't let you just throw away your future."

"And you think that I was going to let you throw away your future? And why are we talkin' about throwing away futures? Dramatic as always, Kit." Neko raised a brow, before she laughed again; and her gaze softened to melancholy. "Just let me help out the people that I consider my family, alright, Kit?" She cocked her head; and her eyes glowed with frightening determination. "And do me a favor and go home. Do it for me. No… for Hiro."

Tadashi opened his mouth to protest; but as soon as his brother's name rang out in the air, he found that his words became once again stuck in his throat. And the Hamada found himself wondering—

_Is it selfish of me to let her do this and finally, finally go… __**home**__?_

The very word made his heart ache.

_Or is it selfish of me to not stop her from doing this because I …? _

And he came to a final realization.

Maeko, who had been observing the scene quietly, re-entered the conversation at this moment. She did not clear her throat nor tap her foot to gain the attention of those around her; no, she simply paced right up to Neko and gazed at her evenly.

"You're certain of your decision?" She asked.

"Yeah," Neko grinned back, before she sighed and tapped her chin lightly, "but I just realized that my file is probably deleted now, right? That's gonna be a problem."

"No." Maeko shook her head in response; she then withdrew a slender device from her pocket. A flash drive. "I predicted something similar to this would happen, so I transferred the 5b trial information."

"My, quite the smart cat." Neko laughed. "Shouldn't be surprised given the city we're in."

"Fumiko." Tadashi murmured, clenching his fists and glaring holes into the floor. "I... "

"You're still here, Kit?" Neko asked with a raised brow; she waved him off. "Ya better skedaddle home before Hiro and your aunt give ya a beatin—"

But before she could even finish the word, she was cut off as she was pulled into a tight embrace. It was warm, comforting, familiar; and she melted in it. Reaching upwards, she returned the embrace and let out a quiet sigh.

"You're not a useless older sister, Fumiko." Tadashi whispered, pulling her even closer. "I think you're an amazing older sister."

Neko's eyes widened; and she could not help but allow a small tremble to shake through her body as the statement was said. Lowering her head and blinking rapidly, she laughed one last time:

"And you don't want to prove yourself to be a useless older brother, do ya, Kit? So go home already."

Their embrace loosened ever so slightly.

"Fumiko Honda… thank you."

"Pft! Enough flattery, Tadashi Hamada. Till next time."

And the embrace ended.

* * *

Beams of light were just beginning to pierce through the sky when the door to the Lucky Cat Cafe creaked open.

A gentle hand reached up to the bell that hung above the door and silenced the ring of the bell before the thing even had an opportunity to chime. Steady footsteps that were so quiet that their existence was questionable followed this action. These footsteps were slow — almost hesitant; and the owner of them drifted around the open space almost as if he was lost.

He walked over to the cash register and the wooden counter that manned the front of the cafe and ran his fingers along the rubber buttons and the cracks in the woodwork. Smiling fondly and recalling distant memories, he breathed in the familiar warm and milky scent of coffee beans.

He walked forward.

He strolled past the tables that he recalled scrubbing clean the previous night, past the chairs that he had stacked nearly, and past the hanging overhead menu that he had memorized fully when he was twelve. He drifted past all of these things and hesitantly crossed over the threshold that divided the cafe and 'home'.

"About time, nii-san."

He froze wide-eyed as he observed the figures awaiting him there.

"Welcome home."

And he trembled ever so slightly at the sight of them all,

"Sorry for being so late… but…"

He breathed in deeply and smiled.

"I…"

His voice broke, but he continued speaking anyways.

"... I'm home."

* * *

END

* * *

_Epilogue _: May We Meet Again

...

Recording 032116

"Well, here's another entry for the books. Come on, 'Dashi. We're recording now!"

"Alright, alright, one second - okay. Hello, Tadashi Hamada here."

"You know you don't have to say that with every single entry. Makes you seem kind of egotistical."

"Very ironic coming from you. Besides, what if the other records are lost or something? I'm just putting precaution on the precaution."

A sigh.

"Besides, Hiro... do we need to do this every single day?"

"I am not going to sit down and spend five hours explaining your life story to you if you lose your memories again."

"Okay that was only once -"

"Twice."

"Alright. Point taken."

"Thought so. Anything you want to add to the entry?"

"Other than my little brother here is a knucklehead?"

A scuffle.

"Hey, that hurts!"

The scuffle stops.

"Well, anyways... I guess the sun's been nice the past few days."

"Lame."

Another scuffle.

"Well... we're visiting Maya's grave today... and Fumiko too."

* * *

**A/N**: And here we are. The final chapter! But wait! There's an epilogue so it's technically not over yet! So no goodbyes just yet! Anyways, very dialogue heavy OTL.

Spring break is finally here, so the final epilogue chapter were probably be out soon! Although I probably should study for the exams that are coming up right after break... Oh welll... That's a problem for future me!

Anyways, thanks to all those who read, followed, favorited, and reviewed!

Review Replies:

Unstoppable Cyborg: Thanks! I got an A! /winkwonk.

Comickatsu: Aw, no bby! Don't cry! /showers you with tissues. I'm sorry bby. I'm glad you enjoy Tadakitsu though! Sorry for the late update OTL.

Artemis173: I see what you mean but... the law is not a friendly thing xD. Pleading insanity doesn't lead to a very happy ending exactly. Plus, I kinda wanted to flush out all the characters a bit more so part of it was due to my guilty pleasure OTL.

WyldClaw: Thanks man

thegirlnoonesees:Yup, endings really do suck... but this isn't ending just yet!

Producciones Escudo: Thanks xD!

A Sky Bison: No, don't die! I'm glad you enjoyed the previous update! You're too kind o u o. Really, I'm blushing!

Guest: Thanks... I guess xD

teengens: Sh, no bby, I'm sorry. Don't cry bby. Yes! Huzzah! Tako is dead! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry for the pain OTL. Here is chapter 25 for my poor bby!

Chara: I've never played undertale but I know who all the characters are xD. Flowey sounds like an asshole. Thanks for the compliments!

Fujhi poudes-Escapa non: Yup, Usagi is one lucky rabbit. Pretty sure 'lucky rabbit' is a saying somewhere or something. Anyways. Glad you enjoyed the Tadakitsu thing! I threw in some slight Sasori/Tadashi interactions in this chapter just for you /winkwonk. And you'll see how Tadashi and the Animals move on in the future in the next chapter!

THEFIREKING: thanks, bae!

Unknown: I changed it to M rating before a while ago but then I got a couple of PMs saying they couldn't find the fic with in the M tag so I changed it back. If it really bothers you, I could try to switch it back to M rating.

Alexis Nite: Yup, Freddy. And /winkwonk is just like... /winkwink... Y'know, winking but spelled funny xD


	26. Epilogue

**Fox-Face and Flames**

Epilogue

* * *

Recording 032116

_"Well, here's another entry for the books. Come on, 'Dashi. We're recording now!"_

_"Alright, alright, one second - okay. Hello, Tadashi Hamada here."_

_"You know you don't have to say that with every single entry. Makes you seem kind of egoistical."_

_"Very ironic coming from you. Besides, what if the other records are lost or something? I'm just putting precaution on the precaution."_

_A sigh._

_The camera shifts._

_"Besides, Hiro… do we need to do this every single day?"_

_"I am not going to sit down and spend five hours explaining your life story to you if you lose your memories again."_

_"Okay, that was only once."_

_"Twice."_

_A pause._

_"Alright… point taken."_

_"Thought so. Anything you want to add to the entry?"_

_"Other than the fact that my little brother here is a knucklehead?"_

_A scuffle._

_"Hey! That hurts!"_

_The scuffle stops._

_"Well, anyways… I guess the sun's been nice the past few days."_

_"Lame — what are you? A weather forecast man?"_

_Another scuffle._

_"Well… we're visiting Maya's grave today… and Fumiko too."_

…

Registering Tadashi's distant expression, Hiro reaches over and flicks the camera function off. Baymax, who acts as the medium for the device, blinks down at the two brothers curiously.

Tadashi turns towards Hiro; and his expression is clouded with slight confusion; and then realization hits. His eyes softens, and he chuckles lightly, "I'm such a buzz kill, aren't I?"

"You really are." Hiro answers without skipping a beat; he rocks back on his feet and shrugs. "But you've always been a buzz kill, so nothing new there."

The older Hamada lets out an almost scoffing laugh and reaches over to ruffle the younger's head. The younger, of course, scowls deeply at the gesture and watches as the older paces towards the doorway of their room.

"I'm pretty sure," Tadashi draws, pausing in the doorway and grinning widely as he turns on his heels to face Hiro, "you equate the word 'buzz kill' with 'responsible'."

Hiro raises his eyebrows. Smirks. "Why did you say the same word twice for?"

"Come on, knucklehead," is Tadashi's only response that is coupled with a slight nod towards the hall.

Hiro, of course, complies with the offer and follows the elder down the hall. He is soon followed as well by a waddling Baymax. They stroll down the hallway together, loop down the stairs, and then find themselves immersed in a very energized atmosphere.

The cafe is bustling.

Tables are filled – seated with idly chattering people and topped with cups of coffee that still give off wavering auras of heat – as is the countertop next to the cash register.

Tadashi skids to an immediate halt at the sight; and this sudden and abrupt stop causes both Hiro and Baymax to collide into his backside. However, the older Hamada holds his ground without much effort and does not even move to acknowledge his victims; instead, he turns his eyes onto Cassandra Hamada who manages the cash register in a somewhat frantic state.

"Er…" He tries, ignoring the punch in the back he receives from Hiro. "Aunt Cass, do you—"

"No, no, no, no, no." Cassandra Hamada chants as she receives a fistful of money with her free hand – her other hand is balancing a platter topped with several filled coffee cups – from a customer; she pauses, shoving the money into the cash register and then withdrawing a handful of change. "I've got this, boys. Go do what you need to do! Aunt Cass is manning the fort!"

Hiro peers around Tadashi's side. It is clear from his frowning expression that he is not very convinced. "Uh, Aunt Cass…"

"Look boys." She pronounces with an air of finality. "You have things you need to do today, and I have things I need to do today. So, instead of arguing about what each of us needs to do today, we should just do the things we need to do today, capiche?"

Tadashi blinks.

Hiro blinks.

Baymax blinks.

Aunt Cass, in turn, smiles softly. "Go."

At the sudden change in expression, Hiro loops behind Baymax and immediately begins to usher the bot along with his brother towards the door. Tadashi doesn't resist. He merely flicks his head back with a laugh; and then he shouts back to his aunt—

"We'll be back as soon as we can, Aunt Cass."

Hiro flicks his head back towards and mouths under his breath, "I'll keep him busy."

* * *

The two brothers and Baymax stroll side-by-side down one block then two; and at that second block, they cross the road and find themselves in front of a rather familiar store. A sweet scent — light and airy and honey-like — wafts out from the open door. And just peeking inside the two can see bushels of flora and bouquets of flowers. It seems as if the entire store is buried in them — filled to the brim. A dark head of hair pops out from a mountain of lilies.

Long lashes that sprout from pale, heavy lids like cropped grass; jet black hair swept to the side.

"Hey, Mr. Rice," Tadashi greets with a smile as he watches as Hiro bounds into the store.

The adolescent looks left and right, feels petals and stems inbetween his fingers, and then throws a glance back in the flower-buried man's direction. Whistles. "Looks like you've been busy."

"Oh, hey, boys," the buried man greets them with a white smile. He brushes a rose petal out of his hair. "Yeah, it's been hectic lately." Expertly, he plucks several flowers from the piles surrounding him and then winds them up with a plastic cover. "If you boys are looking for Maeko, she's out by the cemetery. Has no patience, that one."

"She doesn't have much of a nice bone in her either," Hiro scoffs under his breath before he is met with a light karate chop to his head from Tadashi. "Ow!"

"We actually stopped by here to pick up a bouquet for Maya." Tadashi explains from behind the adolescent. He raises a challenging eyebrow at his brother's glare, before he reaches down and ruffles the head of wild dark hair.

Hiro ducks away from the hair ruffle, before he walks forward and leans against the countertop Mr. Rice stands behind. He jerks a thumb back in Tadashi's direction. "Also need a bouquet of roses for Tadashi's date later today."

"Date?" Tadashi questions with a raised brow and a cocky grin.

"Oh, right!" Hiro snaps his fingers and smirks as he spins around. "You're nineteen and single. So sad. I'm shedding tears."

Mr. Rice glances back and forth between the two Hamadas before he turns and heads to the doorway behind him. He returns seconds later with a very large bouquet which Tadashi takes gratuitously. The elder takes the thing and gives the smug-looking Hiro an equally smug look; and he finally responds to the insult—

"Wait, we're talking about _you _now?"

* * *

When the trio finally exits the shop, the sun hangs halfway in the sky. Bright and blinding as always.

The three find themselves standing idly in the blinding rays at the very edge of a corner of a street that is just outside of Rice Fields Flower shop. The three stand there waiting patiently, relaxedly. Mostly relaxedly.

Hiro groans and pushes himself even further into the shade created by Baymax's large form. He grimaces. "We should have totally ridden Baymax instead. We've been waiting for them for like ten years."

"Don't let Gogo hear you say that," Tadashi laughs, before he pauses and pulls down the bill of the cap that rests on his head. He frowns, taps his foot almost impatiently. "They _are _taking a while…"

Hiro blearily blinks at his older brother with a hesitant expression. Before he can say anything however, his attention locks onto something that nearly brings tears to his eyes.

It's a small and unnoticeable thing that idly, lazily rolls down the sidewalk in front of him. Small and square and colorful. Topped off with a rainbow umbrella.

An ice cream cart manned by an ice cream man. The man stops short with the cart; and people walking along the sidewalk immediately flood towards it.

Hiro stares consideringly for a moment, before he unlatches himself from Baymax's side and strolls over to where the cart is parked. He stands on his tippytoes, peers around the crowd surrounding the cart, and spies on the different flavors laid out within. He resists licking his lips.

Tadashi observes him from afar. A faint smile plays on his lips — a faint smile that turns to a slight gape of surprise as he registers the man standing behind the cart. Hiro, on the other hand, is too engrossed in the flavors laid out in the car to notice. In fact, he is too engrossed to even notice the shout of —

"Hey, watch out!"

— that is directed in his general direction. Too engrossed to notice how the crowd around the cart thins out and disperses in every direction. Too engrossed to notice the checkered sphere that hurtles towards his head until it's too late—

Crack!

Hiro lets out a shout of pain and alarm as the soccer ball cracks against his head. He falls to the ground with a groan. In an instant, Baymax is at his side—

"On a scale of one to ten…"

— as well as the older Hamada who quickly rushes to help him back up to his feet:

"Hiro, are you okay?!""

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." The adolescent grunts, brushing himself off. He eyes the soccer ball that rolls at his feet and then picks it up with one hand.

A shadow passes over the two brothers, the robot, and the ice cream man. The shadow's owner is adorned in a green and black soccer uniform that seems to fit perfectly onto her lithe body.

The apparent soccer player's dark brows furrow, her green eyes glisten; and her lips dip into an apologetic smile as she brushes back the strands of dark hair that have escaped from her ponytail.

"Sorry bout that. Lost control there. Are you—"

Hiro's eyes widen just as the girl's eyes widen.

"You—-!"

"Seeing how you scared off all of my other customers," the ice cream man drawls, scratching his head, "I hope you guys actually buy something."

Hiro recognizes that voice. It's a voice he has not heard in nearly over year. He also recognizes the small girl standing in front of him. A slight and almost nostalgic panic erupts in Hiro's chest; and for a moment he is tempted to whip his head back panickedly in his brother's direction. But then realization settles in; and he settles on raising a thick brow at the two familiar faces.

"Usagi… and Hebi…?"

"The name is Sasha Peters." The girl formerly known as 'Snake' informs the adolescent with hands on hips. (Her voice is not as sickeningly sweet as he remembers it to be.) She holds her hands out for the ball that Hiro holds in his own hands, before she flashes a white smile — a smirk rather. "I really am sorry, but your head was in the way. Anyways, can I have my ball back now?"

"And look at my number one customer here — rude as ever." The man formerly known as Usagi sighs, before he reaches into his cart and pulls out five ice cream bars. "Will it be the usual this time?"

"Yeah," Sasha Peters responds with a roll of her eyes, "I'd be lying if I said I liked this stuff. I mean this stuff is disgusting but my friends really like it for some reason so whatever." She takes the five ice cream bars in hand and wiggles her fingers on her free hand at Hiro again. "Seriously, can I have my ball back?"

Wordlessly, Hiro drops the ball back into the girl's open palm. The girl takes it in hand, gives Hiro a once over, and then finally notices the elder Hamada who stands behind him. She stares; and her face flushes, and her brows raise; and there is a spark of _something _in her eyes. Something that resembles desire. But the spark fades quickly; and she gives the elder a once over just as she had given the younger a once over. And then she registers the smile that is painted on the elder's face; and the spark is snuffed completely. Tucking the ball under her arm, she takes a step back.

"Looking as handsome as always, my dear Tadashi." She says in a strange tone—

— and the elder Hamada who stands wearing a faint smile reminisces about rooftop days for the briefest of movements—

— before she nods in Hiro's direction. "Good thing you take after him, Hiro."

And with that the girl, holding five ice cream sandwiches in one hand and a soccer ball in the other, turns on her heels. She pauses, glances over her shoulder, and offers both a wave and a white smile that is almost blinding; and then, she disappears into the crowd.

Tadashi and Hiro stare after her — the latter with a still shocked expression and the former with a distant and almost reminiscing one. But then slowly — as if awakening from a dream — the former refocuses his attention on Hiro and then on the man formerly known as Usagi. And the man formerly known as Usagi taps on his cart and cocks a smile.

"Any flavors you keeping an eye on?"

Tadashi stares for a moment, before he responds matter-of-factually. "I'm not one for sweets." He thumbs Hiro with a smile. "Hiro, here on the other hand…"

"I'm one for free food." Hiro responds with a raised brow and with a trace of a smirk. He eyes Usagi almost suspiciously — no, contemplatively.

"Right, right," Tadashi chimes, pulling out his wallet and from that pulling out a couple bills. He pauses, blinks past the blinding rays, and observes Usagi closely. "I didn't take you for an ice cream salesman kind of guy."

Usagi leans forward onto his cart and props his elbows up on the thing. The shade from the cart umbrella casts a light shadow on his pleasant and relaxed expression. "Well, neither did I during all of that, but…" He casts a glance into the distance and the two brothers follow his gaze. They follow his gaze to a group of five children passing back and forth a soccer ball while eating ice-cream sandwiches. "... but, I enjoy the people that I come across." He flicks his gaze back to the two brothers and then focuses on Tadashi. "Besides, I didn't take you for the type of person to use your money to buy a kid ice cream."

"Hey, I'm not a kid..."

Tadashi throws his head back with a laugh and hands the wad of cash to the man. And the man takes it generously while eyeing the large bouquet held in the Hamada's free hand.

"I'd be lying if I said I had much of a choice." Tadashi says plainly, crossing his arms while making sure he did not damage the flowers. "I have a hard time resisting _this_ guy's requests."

"I'd say it's my charming personality." Hiro quips, pointing to a popsicle that is stowed away in the corner of the cart.

Usagi slides open the door of the cart, pulls out the popsicle, and then hands the thing to the adolescent. The adolescent takes the thing and greedily unwraps it.

A bright red popsicle — the same color as the lollipops Baymax handed out after he finished his diagnoses.

It tastes like cherry.

"Who are those flowers for?"

Tadashi blinks as if confused, before he glances down at the bouquet he now cradles in his arms. He shifts the thing and peers into it. And he smiles a smile that does not meet his eyes. "We're visiting the grave of one the participants in my—" He pauses, lets out a quiet sigh. "We're visiting Maya's grave…"

Usagi — no, not Usagi. Hiro squints and leans forward to read the bold-lettering that is printed onto the golden name tag that is pinned to the man's shirt. Thomas Rhine.

"We're going to visit Fumiko in the hospital too." Tadashi says suddenly. He turns the bouquet in his hands. "You can come with us…"

Thomas Rhine smiles wryly, before he stretches and observes the passersby with a strange tiredness. "As much as I'd love to, my son has a baseball game this afternoon. I know it sounds terrible me choosing to go see my son instead of Fumiko after all she's done for us, but… I can't let myself regret missing out on more than I already have."

And Hiro suddenly can feel Tadashi's heavy gaze resting on his back; and he straightens himself under it.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Tadashi says quietly. "Guilt in this situation is pointless."

Hiro turns with a frown. "Tadashi—"

But then there is a painfully loud screech that causes all within the area to wince; and the sounds is followed shortly by the appearance of a large yellow car hurtling down the corner of the street and then by the smell of burning rubber. Thomas Rine watches with a gape as the vehicle hurtles down the street towards them; and he cannot help but pull back with narrowed eyes, tensed muscles, and—

— the yellow thing screeches to a halt just in front of the corner the two Hamadas were standing in front of merely seconds before.

The two Hamadas, unlike the elder man, greet this vehicle with raised brows and contemplative elder looks somewhat more concerned than the younger regarding the situation however.

"Gogo said she was going to give me driving lessons y'know."

"Don't even _joke_ about that."

And then the doors to the yellow vehicle fly open revealing four familiar figures. Four waves with varying enthusiasm are offered. And then several eyes widen with recognition.

"Dude, hey, it's! — bro, Taka would probably freak if he—"

"Well, if it isn't—"

"Oh my gosh, hey—"

"Get in the car when you're ready."

Three of the four figures in the car stumble out and greet the three on the street with varying degrees of enthusiasm. The two tallest members of the greeting trio compete for the most enthusiasm radiated. Honey Lemon swoops down and embraces Hiro tightly, before greeting Tadashi with a smile, and the moving on to give Thomas Rhine a gratuitous handshake with a surprised grin. Fred, on the other hand, offers the two brothers simultaneous high-fives, before nearly flying over Thomas's ice-cream cart to offer the man one.

"Dude, Taka says hi."

"Taka's doing well then, I take it?" Thomas Rhine says with a smile that fills Hiro again with that strange sense of accomplishment.

"Yeah, totally, man," Fred says, returning the smile. He nods, gestures vaguely. "Dude is living in my basement right now, but we just got him a gig at the Night House."

"A gig?" Thomas raises a brow.

"Yeah, it's a dj-ing gig." Wasabi answers for him with clasped hands. "It's been his dream for ages apparently."

"Really?" Thomas laughs. He looks amused, yet pleased. Very pleased. "Well, he did talk a lot about making music, 'dropping sick beats', and 'breaking the barrier of reality with the sweet serenity of his jams'."

"Taka talked a lot in general." Tadashi says pointedly, before he smiles a bit. "But, yeah, he's doing well."

Thomas Rhine pauses at the smile, before he runs his fingers along the edges of his cart. "Tell me how Fumiko's doing, alright? I make it a goal of mine to stop by here at least once a week."

"You could come with us." Wasabi offers gratuitously, looking rather earnest. He thumbs the yellow car parked behind him and throws a look back at the woman who sits observing everything from the driver's seat. "We could squeeze you in, but I gotta give you a heads up about Gogo's driving."

Thomas smiles wryly again. He smiles wryly as he takes out five wrapped popsicles and continues to smile wryly as he hands them to the larger man. Wasabi takes them with an equally wry smile. There is no disappointment. Only understanding.

* * *

They decide to take the trolley instead. And they end up taking up half of an entire cart. The thing squeaks along the tracks as it idly rolls through the city.

Fred, who has rarely taken the thing, rambles on excitedly about how having a Big Hero Six tram would be a worthwhile investment. Honey Lemon and Wasabi try to reason with him, while Gogo lounges in one of the seats. Baymax sits beside her and next to Baymax sits Hiro. Tadashi stands beside him.

The elder Hamada holds loosely onto one of the hanging hand straps with one hand and toys with his cleaned popsicle stick in the other. He twirls it round and round in between his fingertips as he absentmindedly stares out of the window at the passing scenery.

Hiro observes him.

He has noticed that Tadashi always seemed to keep his hands busy, always dove into his work when he's at the university, always involved himself in everything everyway possible. Of course, Tadashi was like that before everything happened. But, now… Hiro thinks…. Hiro thinks there is a strange intensity in the way his brother dives into things. It is almost as if he wishes to distract himself from—

Hiro is drawn away from his thoughts as a hand ruffles his hair.

"Are you thinking of quantum physics in there or something illegal?" Tadashi questions, his hand still resting on Hiro's head. The smile he wears is a cocky one, but his eyes are as kind as Hiro remembers.

— and although the intensity seems ever present, at certain times — times just as this — there is a certain calmness and serenity to his brother's entirety. And this calmness Hiro longs to prolong.

He smacks his brother's hand away and scowls before he smirks. "I was just thinking about how your face lights up whenever you hear Fumiko's name — see, there it is."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, otouto."

* * *

The hospital is white. Very white. So white that Tadashi thinks that he will lose himself in the color just like how he lost himself in it before. But he does not lose himself. He does not lose himself because he is surrounded left and right by vibrant colors. The colors are the only thing that makes the hospital visits even remotely bearable.

"Oh, it's you lot again," the hospital's front desk receptionist greets the group of seven with her usual greeting. "You don't need to fill out the passes for security this time. There's no point in repeating it. You know the room, right?"

"Got it memorized!" Fred quips, before he jerks his head back and whispers to Tadashi behind him. "That's actually the catchphrase of one of Taka's favorite characters. He's from this video game series that the guy's been trying to get me to play. We use the catchphrase to test out the waters to see if any fellow fans are nearby. New recruits for Taka's dj-ing gig."

"Have you found any?" Tadashi responds, eyebrows raised.

"It takes true time and patience." Fred responds, facing forward again.

"I bet it does." Honey Lemon says reassuringly from beside him.

Together they wind down the hospital corridors, stroll through swinging white doors, pass through two security checks—

"It's okay. Let them through. They're family of the subject. They've been here numerous times."

— and the finally find themselves standing in front of two large white doors. In front of those doors stand two large men. Two large men wearing large black uniforms. A stark contrast against all the white.

Fred walks up to them easily and holds his hand up in a high-five sort of stance. "Wassup, guy number one and guy number two?"

They don't respond. Stiff and unmoving. Just as always.

"You get thirty minutes." Guy number one says curtly.

"Starting now." Guy number two responds, pushing open one of the doors with a firm hand.

"Alright, my man." Fred laughs, making finger-guns with his hands and entering the room.

The others follow him from behind through the doors. Honey Lemon offers the guards a hesitant smile, Wasabi tries to avoid eye contact, and Gogo offers them a mean side glare. Tadashi eyes them with narrowed eyes as he walks by, while Hiro brushes past them easily. Baymax blinks at them and waddles past. Their actions do not warrant even the slightest reactions from the guards.

Hospital room 405b is just as white as the other rooms within the facility. At first glance, it is an exact replica of the other rooms. An open window letting in sunlight is built into the furthermost wall; and a bed is posted at the centermost.

At a second glance, however, this room is much different from the others. It is very colorful. Flowers and bouquets line the floor alongside daintily wrapped boxes. Streamers line the very top corners of the wall. And…

And a woman sits upright in the bed. Her gaze is focused on the scenery that plays outside the window. The wind that drifts into the room from the open thing brushes her dark hair aside lightly. In the quiet light, the faintest reds can be seen at the very tips of her hair.

As the entering footsteps echo throughout the room, the woman turns her head. And then she chuckles quietly.

"Wouldya look at who cat dragged in."

Tadashi, bouquet still held tightly in his hands, gently brushes past the others and stops short right in front of the bed. Gogo comes to stand beside him a second later and offers the sitting woman a sort of half-smile, half-frown.

"How are you holding up, Fumiko?" Tadashi asks quietly.

"Well, I'd be lyin' if I said all was well." Fumiko responds with a sly grin. "I'm getting ansty getting all cooped up like this. The last time I was out and about was when Sasha was here visiting with her family last week." She runs her fingers along the blanket covering her lower body; and then she stretches. "I could use a breath of fresh air — especially when the air isn't bein' taken up by reporter breath."

…

A couple minutes later sees to Fumiko Lyre being loaded into a wheelchair and being rolled down the looping hospital corridors. Gogo pushes the vehicle forward slowly. It's the slowest she's ever gone. But all she wants to do is give the woman sitting in the chair time to relax, to enjoy, to soak up the atmosphere.

Tadashi walks right beside her and studies her quietly. The younger Hamada and the others linger behind several steps away.

The only sounds that echo throughout the quiet halls are the whispers of nearby doctors and the clack of the rusty wheels of the wheelchair.

"When did the doctors say that you were going to be able to... walk again?" Honey Lemon asks, taking a ginger step forward.

"Who knows!" Fumiko throws her head back dramatically and stretches again. "All these tests they're running are getting so boring and old. Almost makes me want to…" She pauses, rests her head on the back of the chair, and then she eyes Tadashi. Eyes the flowers. "And are those for me, Tadashi?"

The elder Hamada chuckles; and the sound softens the woman's hard expression. He laughs his response— "Not this time, but I'll remember to bring you some — maybe I'll even bring some catnip for ironic purposes — next time."

There is a pause.

"Next time, huh?"

It's whispered.

Tadashi and Gogo turn towards the woman. The others watch idly.

A laugh.

"I'm just thinking, Kit." Fumiko continues to chuckle, wiping a tear away from her eye. "How you were before… I don't think ya'd ever even considered having a 'next time' as Kitsune."

Hiro pauses at the familiar name, but he continues walking forward nonetheless. Tadashi, on the other hand, blinks in surprise at the statement.

"You know what?" He runs a hand through his hair and laughs airily. "I think you're right."

Fumiko smiles wryly and then shares a look with Gogo. She then flicks her head back towards Hiro and grins a cheshire cat grin at him.

"So," she asks, "how's school been, little Hamada?"

Hiro doesn't correct her as he normally does with other people at the nickname. Instead, he slides up in between Tadashi and the woman and shrugs: "It's easy. As usual."

Wasabi and Honey Lemon share a look.

"Easy?" Tadashi repeats, eyebrows quirked. "Says the one who had all of us spend a night at the lab for a crash study cram montage right before the calculus exam the next day."

"The cram montage was all I needed." Hiro shrugs half-heartedly. "Aced the exam the next day."

"Well, I'm not surprised." Fumiko smiles slyly, before she motions widely to all of them. "You're all a bunch of geniuses anyways." There is a strange fondness in her eyes. A quiet longing. But she stretches again; and her expression once again becomes amused, thoughtful. "These corridors are old… would ya mind taking me to floor ten?"

Hiro starts as does nearly everyone in the group. Gogo stops the chair short in its tracks and nearly causes Fumiko to fly off the thing.

"Floor ten?" Wasabi repeats, uncertain if he'd heard right. "But that's where…"

Fumiko relaxes back into her chair. Taps her fingers along the leather armrest. "We need to face this eventually, ya know. Stare this rat right in the eyes, ya know?"

"Yeah," someone whispers, "I know."

…

Floor ten of the hospital is much quieter than the other floors. It's almost dead silence. And the blindingly white walls seem to soak all the noiselessness in like a sponge.

Tadashi toys with the wrapping of the bouquet as he follows Gogo and Fumiko out of the elevator and down the bleached halls. Hiro walks beside him and wears a hard expression. Honey Lemon looks hesitant yet hopeful; Wasabi worried yet determined; and Fred observing and somber for once.

Fumiko guides them past several rooms that line the hall. First F, then E, then D, and then C. They pause by a white door that has a golden label reading 'Room 10B' nailed at it's forefront. Two men — almost identical to the ones that had been standing in front of Fumiko's room — stand in front of it with clasped hands.

Their gazes first fall onto Fumiko, and they regard her with stolid expression. But then their gazes fall on the others — Baymax particularly — and they move in front of the door with raised hands.

"You are not allowed to pass through here without the proper identifications." One of them states plainly.

"Aw, come on." Fumiko says with a mock pout. "Ya guys know me. I'm like the reason ya have to be posted here in the first place."

"_You_ may have clearance," the other man states with a steely tone, "but those individuals behind you do not."

"Aw, come on," Fumiko sighs with a roll of her eyes. "Can't you do me a favor here?"

"A couple weeks ago there was an assault attempt on the patient." The other man explains crisply. "Security has been tripled since then."

Hiro looks left and right. Raises a brow. _Doesn't look like it tripled._

"An assault attempt?" Honey Lemon questions with a frown.

"Yeah," the second man replies, looking rather troubled, "the assailant was allegedly an acquaintance of one of the victims in the Keiji Case. He disguised himself as a nurse and made an attempt on the patient's life."

Tadashi's eyes narrow at the statement.

But then, before anything else can occur, the white door swings open and a wiry old man in a doctor's coat steps out. His face is kind and his hair is dusted with the slightest of grays but—

— but, even so, Tadashi tenses as his appearance. Hiro notices.

The doctor registers them and blinks at them with surprise, before he finally registers Fumiko and raises his brows.

"Ah, Ms. Lyre, visiting again today?"

"Ya nailed the mark, doc." Fumiko answers with a grin. She continues to hold this grin as she thumbs Tadashi who stands behind her. "I was hopin' that a couple of my friends could stop by too. They have good wishes for the kid."

"Good wishes?" The doctor asks, glancing back at the gathered group. His gaze falls on Tadashi — on Tadashi's face — and he pauses with pursed lips. "Well, this boy really does need good wishes." He turns his head to the two men who stand on either side of him. "Well, men, you heard Ms. Lyre."

There is a pause.

One of the standing men clears his throat: "Not to be rude, Doctor Yang, but the security—"

"I am aware of the security measures being placed to protect Mr. Keiji's well being." The doctor says in a clear and crisp tone. "But I must point out the need to protect his _mental _well being." He frowns. "You have noticed, haven't you?"

There is another pause.

A lengthy pause.

The men move. The doorway is cleared. The door is pushed open.

"You have ten minutes."

They step inside.

And the inside is just as white as the outside. Just like every inch and corner of the hospital. Just like Fumiko's own room. Except — unlike Fumiko's room — there is not a single drop of extravagance or human presence in the atmosphere. Not any uniqueness in color or sound. There is only a the monotone ringing of a heart monitor that is placed next to the occupied bed at the center of the room. That and the droning of the television set that is fixated at the top corner of the room.

The occupant of the bed is a frail-looking boy who — Tadashi soon realizes — is evidently around Hiro's age. His hair is dark — a stunning contrast to his deathly pale skin — and his gaze is focused squarely on the television screen. It's a vacant gaze. Vacant and empty and—

"Keshiki Keiji." Hiro whispers out the name that has now become foreign on his tongue. The faintest embers of something bitter and awful burns in his chest.

His address receives no response. Not even a twitch.

But even so — even from distance — Hiro can tell that this Keshiki Keiji is not the same as the one he saw that night all those months ago. This Keshiki is awake. This Keshiki has a lot more than only several months to live. This Keishiki Keijii has been—

— "...saved." Tadashi murmurs; and the kindness Hiro and the others have always recognized as uniquely 'Tadashi' becomes almost overshadowed by something else. "I still can't believe you saved… Sora Keiji's son."

The doctor eyes Tadashi again.

"Yeah," Fumiko scoffs; and she plays with the leather on the arm of her chair."Can you believe it? Trial 10b produced the most successful applicants than any of the other trials, but before they could get all the cats in the bag, we all escape!"

The doctor frowns at the word 'we'.

"And then it turns out that my tainted blood is what Keiji the elder was searching for all along." Fumiko continues. She plays with her hair this time. "They gave me a choice you know. On whether I'd give the kid my blood or not." Another scoff, this time with mirth. "And to be completely honest, I really just wanted to let the kid die just to flick that Keiji bastard off."

Gogo frowns at the burning fire in the woman's eyes, at how the woman's lips pull into an almost ugly sneer. But then the woman throws her head back and chuckles:

"But you know what the good ol' doc told me here?"

Tadashi observes her without a change in expression.

"He told me that one of the side-effects of the serum along with superhuman strength…" She pauses, cackles instead. "... was longevity." And then suddenly, she is no longer cackling. She instead side-glances at Tadashi slowly and then meets his gaze. "Yup, that's right. Apparently, my lifespan is slightly longer than an average human's."

"Oh… wow." Honey Lemon whispers, biting her lip and balling her fist ever so slightly.

"Dude," Wasabi murmurs, restraining himself from glancing quickly at Tadashi. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," the doctor clears his throat suddenly, before he runs his fingers through his hair; he blinks at Fumiko with raised brows — almost disappointed-like, "what she says is true. Although… we haven't decided to release such information yet to the press until we solidify some information, so you must understand that we must keep this quiet for now." He finishes his tirade by clasping his hands tightly.

"Bro, your secret is as safe with us as Batman's identity was with Alfred." Fred responds easily, waving the concern off with a flick of his hand. He backtracks to where the doctor stands a places a hand on the man's shoulder. "Do not fear."

Gogo raises an unimpressed brow, while Fumiko smiles an amused sort of smile. Tadashi can tell by just glancing at her that the woman is reminiscing. She soon snaps out of her reminiscing, however, and side-glances at the elder Hamada again.

"Anyways," she continues, "once I found that whole shabang out I thought, 'If I'm gonna live longer than everyone else, I might as well do something useful with these extra years' you know? To make up for past mistakes. Decided to take a certain tomcat's mindset. And well, here Keishiki is now. Wild, am I right?"

Gogo frowns at her, prepares to speak, but the elder Hamada speaks for her—

"I wasn't surprised at all when I heard about what you ended up doing on the news. It's your personality. Your action wasn't very wild."

Fumiko blinks back at him for a moment, before she allows a snicker to escape her mouth. Before she can say anymore, however, Honey Lemon asks a question that has been weighing on the minds of the newcomers in the room:

"Is… Mister… Keishiki…. Alright?"

Gazes shift. Expressions sharpen.

The doctor steps forward and then slowly walks up to the adolescent's bed. The adolescent does not turn his head and merely keeps his eyes glued to the television screen. The doctor studies this behavior for a moment before he turns his head and explains further: "He's been comatose-like for several years. His body may be that of a fifteen year old, but his mind is…"

Empathy?

Sadness?

_Satisfaction?_

A strange sensation that he cannot place rises up in Hiro's chest ; and he slowly and almost hesitantly drifts forward and comes to a stop beside the doctor's side. Baymax, loyal as always, waddles after him and comes to a stop beside the adolescent. After a couple seconds of studying Hiro, the robot then blinks down at the adolescent. Its lens flicker, rotate, scan.

Nothing physically wrong other than low Vitamin D levels. But…

"Mr. Keishiki, your endorphin levels are low as well as your neurotransmitter levels." Baymax diagnoses matter-of-factually. "The recommended treatment is an increase in social interaction as well as an immersement in a healthy and an engaged atmosphere."

The idle doctor raises an impressed brow. "That's quite an impressive machine you've got there."

"He's called Baymax…" Tadashi murmurs without much thought as he observes Hiro from afar.

"Baymax… is that so?"

Baymax, too immersed in his medical protocols to acknowledge the discussion, blinks at Keishiki with a tilt of his head. Tries to figure the one of many reasons for why the boy is not responding. After a thorough analysis of action routes and protocols, Baymax decides on the option he sees best fit. The robot waddles forward just a it more and produces a familiar red candy wrapped in plastic.

"Would you like a lollipop?"

The boy doesn't respond. Wasabi shifts forward—

"You guys, maybe we should—"

"Here, Baymax," Hiro frowns, extending his hand out towards the robot, "give me that for a second."

The robot complies and hands the thing off. Hiro palms the candy in his hand and twirls the the stem between his fingers. Slowly — almost hesitantly — he walks around the bed and steps directly in Keishiki Keiji's line of sight. He can hear the droning of the television set from behind him — a news channel of some sort — but he ignores it and stares squarely into Keishiki's vacant gaze.

Tadashi studies him impassively and soon realizes that he recognizes that intensity in Hiro's gaze. He recognizes it because Hiro has fixated such an intense gaze on him many times before. All those months ago before the winter festival.

A reaching gaze. Always reaching. Never relenting. Never giving up—

— _he really is amazing_.

A dull and familiar ache beats in his chest. Without thinking, he reaches forced. And then, a quiet whisper reaches his ears—

"He… He gets it from you, you know."

Tadashi raises his head and finds Honey Lemon staring at him with a small smile. He stares at her for a moment, before he returns it a bit uncertainly — as if almost not believing—

The crunch of plastic wrap unravelling draws Tadashi's attention away from the young woman. And he raises his gaze up just in time to see Hiro toss the plastic wrapping of the lollipop into the trash can placed at the corner of the room. Hiro's gaze is fixated intensely on to Keishiki's own gaze; and despite the relaxedness in the adolescent's slouch, there is a fierceness that radiates from his entire body.

_This guy is the person who started it all. Because of him… Tadashi…._

Thoughts such as those run through Hiro's head as he continues to twirl the lollipop in between his fingers. He frowns. Tadashi watches him with narrowed eyes and thinks 'Come on, Hiro.'

_That's what I thought before. I remember being so mad — almost as mad as I was when the others let Callaghan go…._

He raises an eyebrow, quirks up a smile; and then he holds the lollipop out right in front of Keishiki's face.

_But now..._

"Y'know," he says quietly, testily, "usually when stuff is given out for free, it's either pretty nasty or just plain cheap. But I've had this myself and I've got to admit that it's pretty decent."

Keishiki stares at the red candy. And stares. And stares. And—

Hiro wiggles it suddenly, abruptly, causing Keishiki to visibly start. The doctor himself pauses at this action with slightly widened eyes. These eyes widen even further as he witnesses Keishiki almost dreamily reach for the sugary thing. The bedridden adolescent reaches for it while the standing adolescent hands it off.

Slowly, fluidly, Keiji Keishiki inserts the red thing into his mouth. And his eyes brighten and spark and explode in such a way that clears away all the vacantness that was locked in his gaze before.

There is a small crunch.

"It's really good."

And a blindingly white smile is offered.

…

They end up lounging around in the hall just outside of Keishiki's room several minutes after. The doctor from before stands idly conversing with the stationed guards while excitedly jotting notes down in a stray pad. Tadashi stands with them conversing while the others tune into a television set that is built into the wall several doors down.

"I see…" The doctor nods in Tadashi's direction with raised brows. "Your robot's analysis of Keishiki's condition is very thorough. I'm quite impressed with him — although I'm unsure how I feel about how your robot fits into Keishiki's patient confidentiality."

"Oh… right." Tadashi straightens himself. "I'm sorry about that. I promise that we won't release any information regarding Mr.K—" The older Hamada pauses, swallows. "Keishiki's condition."

"I'll hold you to that." The doctor chuckles, before he gestures towards Baymax's still form several feet away. "So, you actually made this thing? Think of what you could do if you made more — all the people you could help."

Tadashi laughs. Scratches his cheek a bit bashfully before he rubs the back of his neck. "Baymax still needs some improvement. My brother has been helping me with that actually. But one day — yeah definitely." He turns, observing the crowd around the television with a smile as vacant as Keishiki's gracing his face. "Baymax really will make a difference."

There is a pause.

The doctor steps away from the swaying guards and nods for Tadashi to follow. For a moment, there is distrust; but then the elder Hamada complies. He complies and leans in close as the doctor whispers—

"And what did he diagnose of you?"

In an instant, Tadashi's warm gaze ices over. Solidifies. His smile cracks. His body tenses. His hands ball into fists. And he mutters under his breath—

"For your sake as well as mine, don't jump to ridiculous conclusions."

He whispers it before he can even think or process anything else. It is almost like a whiplash — an instinct — to the perceived threat. And immediately after the words escape from his lips, he bites his tongue and internally facepalms.

"As I thought. I was a bit suspicious when I looked over your medical records when you miraculously returned from the dead. And now I know for sure." The doctor breathes out quietly, almost shakily. "The way you act around me is the same way Fumiko — Neko is what she was called during the trials or so the reports she gave officers say — does. Like you're ready to pounce on me at any moment."

Tadashi stiffens, breathes out slowly, and bores an unreadable gaze into the doctor's side. He allows a familiar aura he can only describe as Kitsune-like to leak out from his body. Cold, pragmatic.

"I was friends with Doctor Keiji, did you know?" The doctor continues with a whisper. "Good friends. He was a good man in the beginning, did you know? Ambitious, kind, always looking out for others. He could've done great things. But all good men can turn bad — although, I suppose you know this already. All it takes is a drop of suffering to turn the greatest man into the cruelest."

Tadashi pauses, considering, before he lets out a slow sigh and allows his Kitsune-like aura to dissipate. Then, he blinks back out at the gathered group in front of the television screen and mutters:

"It doesn't take much to make a cruel person become kind either. Really, all it takes is a drop of compassion." He trails off. "... And a punch to the face."

The doctor, no longer gripped tightly by the elder Hamada's stolid stare, chuckles at the response. His amusement soon dies, however, and he turns to Tadashi slowly. He slips his hands into his pocket and toys with something in there.

"Would you think the same applies to Doctor Keiji?"

"He's no doctor." — the response is almost instantaneous. Words that Tadashi cannot swallow rise up and spill out. The pure burning hate — despite the many months that have passed — still finds its way to his heart. He hates the feeling. "Doctors help people. What he did…" Tadashi's eyes widen slightly as he realizes something.

_What I did too…_

"_I'm not giving up on you!"_

"_Your hands aren't meant for killing…"_

"In the end," the older Hamada finally sighs, adjusting his cap and staring fondly out towards the gathered group again, "it's up to the person in a case like this one. At least, that's what I think."

The doctor observes him in a way a doctor would observe a patient. Scrutinizing every detail, assessing behavior, keeping note of nuances in the back of his mind.

"Are you saying then," the doctor finally manages, "that you forgive him?"

This time around Tadashi is the one who gazes at the mumbling doctor as if the doctor himself is the patient. In the pit of his chest, the older Hamada can feel something vaguely Kitsune-like rise up inside of his chest once more. It sparks, burns, eats away almost painfully.

"Why are you projecting a question you want to ask yourself onto me? We're strangers." He asks, keeping the edge out of his voice with effort. After a short moment, he comes to realize the bite of his words and smiles apologetically at the doctor. "I didn't mean to say it like that. I'm sorry." He sighs again, rubs the back of his neck. "To answer your question: one day I might be able to find it in myself to forgive him.." He folds his hands behind his back. "... but I'm not going to allow him to take up anymore of the time he has already taken from me now."

"_Live for us."_

_Live out your life for us._

"I'm glad…" The doctor whispers suddenly. And his voice comes out as a raspy whisper as he burns holes into the ground. "I'm glad that even after everything Sora did, you're still…"

Tadashi gazes at the doctor again. And at the very back of his mind, he grasps at a recent memory—-

"_I'm glad." Callaghan whispered breathily, clenching his fists tightly and burning holes into the iron table he was seated behind. His handcuffs clanked noisily together as his hands began to shake. "I'm glad that… After the fire… After everything with Sora… That you… Tadashi — no, all of you, my students, too — are okay."_

_The teardrops that dribbled down the man's face at the time had splashed noiselessly onto the table. Hiro at the time had remained awfully silent while the other SanFransokyo students has gazed on somberly. Hiro — Tadashi now realizes — was probably wondering if Tadashi had been thinking of a singular word as the latter had gazed upon his former professor. _

_The word 'pathetic'._

_But no such word had invaded Tadashi's mind at the time. _

_There was only a singular feeling_—-

"He was my friend," the doctor continues in a hushed whisper. "He was my friend, but I couldn't do anything to help him. I couldn't _save_ him."

And as Tadashi studies the doctor with widening eyes, he realizes that what Hiro and the others had felt towards him all those months ago when he was still fully 'Kitsune' was something probably akin to what the doctor was feeling now. Yes. The same. That is except for the fact that, in the end, he was _saved_.

The feeling returns.

"You're a doctor." Tadashi says finally with a wry smile that matches the feeling in his chest. "Slowly studying and moving forward and helping people — I'm sure you'll figure something out."

"A doctor who is casually talking to a possible patient and a possible suspect regarding a rather alarming incident." The doctor muses, stroking his nonexistent beard. Feeling Tadashi's gaze prick his skin again — albeit tiredly this time instead of warningly — the man laughs a reassuring laugh. It's a laugh that echoes throughout the halls. A deep rumble. "Well, you know what they say about doctor patient confidentiality."

…

When Tadashi finally strolls his way over to the gathered group the news reporter monologuing on the screen begins talking about a topic of particular interest. Hiro's head perks up at his brother's return and he is greeted with a light ruffle of the hair.

"Something interesting on tv?" He asks.

The others perk up their heads at his appearance. Gogo scrutinizes the doctor who lingers behind talking idly to the guards.

"Uhm… it's…" Wasabi tries testily. He rubs the back of his neck and off-handedly motions towards the television screen.

A familiar woman appears on the screen — the same anchorwoman who had disclosed information that had connected them to Kitsune all those months ago. She speaks in a crisp and clean voice as always as she relays a long monologue. As she does this, a familiar logo spins behind her on a screen. CASCO.

Tadashi's bright demeanor almost completely flatlines.

"More and more information regarding the CASCO case is coming into light." The woman says with a serious expression. "As many of you may know, it has been discovered in the past couple of months that the renown company CASCO has been delving heavily into biological research. Specifically, human experimentation. Such a project was headed by renown SanFransokyo doctor Tien Long whose real identity was revealed to be that of CASCO CEO Sora Keiji."

Hiro studies Tadashi's expression as he listenes to the news reporter convey the news with a stolid face. Fifteen years and some of the latter's expressions are still a mystery to the younger. But the expression the older is currently wearing is identifiable to Hiro. After all, he'd seen Kitsune wear it many times before. Contempt—

"The identities of more individuals suspected of having been associated in the human experimentation project Doubutsu have been uncovered. One individual that has been put in the spotlight is the currently missing Daniel Rank."

At the utterance of the name, both Tadashi and Fumiko take in deep breaths.

"In other news, Sora Keiji's trial has moved forward. He has denied his right to a lawyer. Whether this shows his admittance to his crimes has been widely disguised since he has plead guilty to his crimes."

There is a pause.

"The Krei Corporation as well as some anonymous sources are providing prosecutors with resources to take Sora Keiji down."

Hiro gives Tadashi's expression another once over and finds that his brother is wearing an entirely different expression from before. It's an expression his brother has been wearing quite often. Before the younger can react, however, he is distracted by the sudden change of topic in the newscast—

"— by the renown Big Hero Six. The eponymous Rainbow Bat gang which struck SanFransokyo City Bank last week was arrested yesterday by the city's police force after they had a run in with the hero group. No casualties have been reported thus far. There is, however, a question being raised regarding the group's possible newest member."

"Guys, guys, guys," Fred chants in a whisper that rises into an exclamation; and he begins to roughly shake Wasabi who stands beside him. "Guys, shhhh! It's my big screen debut! They're going to say my name!"

Looks are exchanged. Gogo raises an unimpressed brow.

"Uhm, Fred," Honey Lemon says, clearing her throat, "you're already a member of the team... I mean, you're a founding member."

Fred pauses with an exuberant speech still on the top of his tongue. He pauses, blinks, and then takes a step back. An expression akin to realization takes over his face; and he nods slowly, relaxedly: "Ohhhh, right! Devil is in the details, dude." He turns to Tadashi with a smile and with his hands formed into finger guns. "So that means that today's spotlight is on my second apprentice."

Tadashi quirks a brow and allows himself to smile ever so slightly.

The newscaster continues:

"People are naming him 'The Silver Samurai' due to his gray attire as well as the Japanese sword he fights with."

There is a squeak of metal and leather. Fumiko has shifted in her seat — has shifted to fixate her catty gaze on one Tadashi Hamada. An amused smile plays on her lips; and she thrums her fingers against the arm of her chair.

"Many are questioning where his allegiance lays and numerous conspiracy theories are arising regarding his origin."

Tadashi fixates a Kitsune-like stare at the smirking woman, before he offers her a tug of the lips and a half-hearted shrug.

The newscaster fades out of focus and is replaced by the recording of a middle-aged woman who looks as if her occupation is that of a camp counselor. Her hair is wiry and her frame stout. She looks as if she does shouting for a living. When the camera pans fully onto her face, she crosses her arms and speaks in a taut voice:

"I reckon the Silver man has to do something with those human experiments. I mean, look! His appearance coincides with the reveal of Keiji's true nature…"

The woman's voice fades out; and her image is replaced by that of the former newscaster. The latter begins to rattle on about more news pertaining to the situation, but the current viewers of the show are already quite educated on the circumstances. Due to this fact, their attention is easily grabbed away by Fumiko's wry laugh.

"And here I thought you retired," the woman quips with a lopsided grin that she aims at the older Hamada.

"_Yeah_," Hiro quips in the same manner with hands in pockets, "aren't you around retirement age?"

Wasabi's pensive expression morphs into one of insult. Fred and Honey Lemon look rather amused, albeit the latter a bit concerned. Gogo is adorned with a raised eyebrow; and she shares a look with Fumiko. Tadashi on the other hand...

"Very funny." Tadashi returns with bite and humor. But there is something in his eyes that is not sparkling with the humor that is in his tone. "If I'm reaching retirement age, that must make you…"

"...awesome." Hiro finishes quickly, before he weaves through the gathered group and moves down the hall and towards the elevators. He thumbs backwards questioningly. "Ready to go, guys?"

…

The lower level of the hospital is a familiar lively and loud buzz — quite the contrast to the quiet lull of the private floors. Fumiko, stretching her arms out and kicking back in her chair, seems to take the liveliness with stride; Gogo, who continues to push her along, seems content for once with such a lovely atmosphere. She even appears to be rather content with Fred who strolls beside her rattling lightheartedly to Fumiko.

Fred appears to be discussing something of import with the woman; rather, it appears to be something of genuine amusement because every word that slips from his mouth makes Fumiko's grin grow wider and wider.

"Yeah," Fred continues, patting the woman easily on the back, "Taka would have showed but he wants to perfect his first hit song beforehand. 'Cause, y'know, he wants to perform it for you. It's okay though, he's been living in my basement so he can work and rap and — well — he can do just about everything there."

And with that, Fumiko throws her head back in laughter. Her gaze flicks to Tadashi who walks a bit in front of her. "Tell me, Tadashi, are you hearin' this?"

Tadashi throws her a glance, before he smiles. "Despite everything, Taka hasn't changed at all."

And Hiro once again sees that glimmer of strange expression that he has seen the elder wear several times before. The adolescent can almost grasp it now — the meaning behind such an expression that is.

"You gotta tell me," Fumiko snorts (Hiro's focus is taken away by the happy sound) looking back and forth from Tadashi and Fred, "if the guy ever becomes a one hit wonder."

"I'd be lying if I said that you wouldn't be the first person Taka would go to when he accomplishes something like that." Tadashi responds, adjusting his hat with one hand and turning the bouquet over in the other.

They round several more corridors before they come to a stop in front of Fumiko's designated room. The guards are standing in the same positions and poses as before. They nod approvingly at their timely arrival and ease Fumiko's wheelchair out of Gogo's grasp. The latter sends them a short glare in response but relents.

"It's been fun." Fumiko sighs, stretching out relaxedly in her chair again. She winks at the entire group before she murmurs a "thanks for visiting."

Before any more farewells can be made, however, Fred suddenly gasps a loud and dramatic gasp of realization. Gogo and Wasabi give the man mutual raised brows before they watch him dig around in his pocket to procure a small rectangular object. It's entangled in something.

"My man wanted me to give you this," Fred explains, handing the thing to Fumiko. Oblivious to the frowns the guards give him, the man mimics finger guns at the woman and then winks.

Fumiko turns the silver rectangular box over in her hands. She unravels the black headphones that are wound tightly around the thing, before she raises a brow.

"Talk about old school." Hiro comments, raising a brow as well. He throws a glance back at Fred who smiles back relaxedly in turn. "I could design you a better portable music player. Smaller — y'know. More modern."

"A cassette tape!" Fumiko cackles, flicking her head in Tadashi's direction. "Your little bro thinks a cassette tape is old school."

"It's true." Hiro shrugs.

"He's on another level," is Tadashi's only amused comment.

Fumiko hums another laugh, before she inserts an earbud into her left ear. She hits a nodule on the device and listens as a booming voice plays out from the small buds. It's a loud and booming enough of a sound that even those who are not listening in through the headphones can make out several words. Several rapped out words, that is—

"Love and peace."

"Moving on forward."

"Animal crew."

"Zeroes to heroes."

"And — wait. What's a word that rhymes with cool…?"

The tape within the device spins and spins its cogs and wheels until the spinning reaches an abrupt halt. A soft click resonates as the play button pops back up.

Fumiko stares at the device for a long and hard moment. Honey Lemon and Tadashi exchange looks as do Gogo and Wasabi as do

"It seemed…" Honey Lemon tries. "Very… interesting."

"That's one word to describe it." Gogo huffs, eyebrow raised.

"It's…" Fumiko murmurs, turning the device over and over in her hands. Her turning hands shake slightly; and the shakes then spread to her shoulders. A quiet gasp escapes from her lips. And then…

And then a sound.

The gathered group isn't quite sure whether the woman who is known as both Fumiko Lyre and Neko is crying or laughing, tearing up or cackling. But Hiro and Tadashi see a bright white smile grace her face; and they know everything is going to be alright.

…

They bid their farewells and make a promise for another reunion. The guards allow the woman to keep the music player.

As they pass out of the hospital doors, Tadashi catches the eye of a nurse who bustles around the hospital's lobby. She appears to be very practiced and knowledgeable in her field because she walks back and forth from doctor to patient to doctor with an air of efficiency. An air of motherliness accompanies her as well. The way she holds herself, the way her hair is fixated in a tight ponytail — maturity, motherliness, strength.

She raises her head.

Their eyes stray, meet.

Recognition. Pride?.

Tadashi nods slowly in her direction. And then he smiles. She returns the gesture.

'_Irony aside, she probably thinks of her as the alpha of the wolfpack_,' Tadashi muses. '_I don't think I mind it.'_

* * *

The sun is just about touching down on the horizon when the group of seven make their way round to San Fransokyo's Community Cemetery. The trolley ride to the place is long and hot and gruelling so the original members of the hero group — minus Baymax because fatigue is but a concept for a machine — linger behind in a small pavilion. Of course, "fatigue" is just an excuse. Allowing the elder Hamada some time with _her_ in peace and quiet is the truth.

So, Baymax and Tadashi wind up the hills of the cemetery side-by-side in silence. Creator and machine. The whirring of metal components and steady beat of a lively heart.

Silence.

"Baymax, I know I've said this a bunch of times before, but… thank you. Thank you for looking after Hiro, for… for helping me."

A smile. A glance.

"Of course, Tadashi. It is in my programming."

A small chuckle.

A pause.

At the top of a rolling hill several feet away they spy a young woman dressed in navy who stands in front of a small grave. She turns and greets them just a couple moments before they reach her side.

"Tadashi. Baymax."

A small nod is given for each acknowledgement.

"Hello, Miss Rice," Baymax greets Maeko Rice with his usual strange and awkward wave. "How are you feeling this day?"

"I am doing well." Maeko answers firmly, before she turns and eyes Tadashi — eyes the flowers he holds in his hands.

Tadashi himself is eyeing the flowers that are already put before the grave Maeko stands in front of. The flowers are purple, piney, wreathe-like.

Rosemary.

"_Another flower for remembrance,"_ Tadashi can hear the ghost of Maya whisper at the very back of his mind.

His gaze then shifts towards the grave. It's a dark shade of gray unlike the other tombstones; and it is not yet worn by sunshine and rain. A name carved in pristinely, rigidly into its center.

Maya Shion Rice

A date is carved right below it.

August 12th, 2197

And then a dash mark.

And then another date.

The second date is carved almost painfully into the stone. Tadashi realizes that it gives "set in stone" a whole different meaning. He finds some morbid humor in it that he is sure he wouldn't have found humorous before all of this.

Set in stone.

Not missing, not a possible runaway, not a mystery, but—

September 16, 2211

— dead.

There is finality. It's no longer a mystery. Nothing like that. Closure? Maybe.

Tadashi knows that there are about a couple dozen other graves similar to this one. Graves that are the same dark shade of gray, that is. Such graves — Tadashi knows — have the exact same ending dates carved into them as well. Thirty-two graves in all. He knows this for fact because he plans on visiting all of them _again _later some time.

"It's good to see you, Maeko." Tadashi says, falling in place beside the woman. "How have you been?"

"Likewise." Maeko returns, before she shifts her gaze. "And I have been well." She eyes the flowers again and a small smile graces her lips. "I see my father has been spoiling you by wrapping the flowers himself."

Tadashi blinks at the remark.

"But, of course, that is probably because you have the hands of a…" She pauses, tucking a dark lock behind her ear. "... the hands of a scientist."

"And you have the mind of an investigator." Tadashi remarks, finally allowing a smile to grace his features. He bends down to his knees and gingerly places the slightly worn bouquet next to the grave — next to the flowers that are already placed there. He tilts his head to the side, flashes another grin at Maeko. "If we put our minds together, we could probably help a lot of people."

Maeko blinks at him. Smiles a bit. It's a nice expression that she has been offering a lot more lately. "My mind is currently focused on keeping Sasori in check."

"Oh, right. He's working for your agency, isn't he?" Tadashi murmurs, rising to a stand. "How is he?"

"A handful." Maeko responds crisply. She pauses, studying the grave and the flowers that lay before it. "He is helping productivity, however. We have made great leaps in our contributions to the Doubutsu investigation. We are actually closing in on identifying the true identity of the adolescent you know as Hitsuji."

There is a pause.

And there is a crinkling sensation within the elder Hamada's chest.

"Closure for Hitsuji's family, huh?" Tadashi whispers; and he begins to feel _that _feeling again. "Fumiko will be… happy…"

"Closure. Is that what you would call this." Maeko states, returning her attention to the grave. "Complete satisfaction is not what I would call this feeling."

"I guess, philosophically, in a sense it is." Tadashi mutters, adjusting his cap and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Your major is bio-physics, not philosophy if I recall."

"I don't need a philosophy major to think." Tadashi responds coyly, gingerly reaching forward and touching the gray of the grave. "If I've learned anything from all of this, it's that complete satisfaction is never fully achieved. If I could compare it to anything, I'd compare satisfaction to a tangent line—"

"I hope that you didn't bore Maya with mathematical drivel like this back there." Maeko interrupts, not removing her gaze from the grave. "That place was already dreadful enough."

Tadashi blinks in surprise at the amusement in Maeko's voice, before he laughs and adjusts his cap again. He rubs the back of his neck in mock embarrassment, before he gives a quiet shrug. "You've got me there."

A lull of silence again.

"So, are you saying that you are not completely satisfied right now, Tadashi Hamada?" Maeko asks in a hard tone.

Sighing, Tadashi removes his cap and holds it loosely in his hands. "I'm… okay."

"Okay?" Maeko repeats.

" If I look at it from one angle, I'm great." Tadashi explains. "If I look at it from another, I'm not so great. But…" He turns to look at her. "... If I look at it from my angle, I'm just… fine."

"Oh?" Maeko raises a brow. "Are you done with your bout of self-sacrifice then? The Silver Samurai, I've heard. You Hamadas always seem to have a knack for throwing yourselves into things."

"Oh yeah… that..." Tadashi chuckles a bit, looking truly embarrassed for once. "To be frankly honest with you, I did it on a whim. To watch over my brother and friends. To fill up time. To do what I could to atone. Concepts and ideals... " He sighs, ruffles his hair with a free hand. "Actually, mostly, I think I was still trying to understand what what 'live for us' meant."

Maeko's eyes widen slightly; and in the back of her mind, her sister's voice echoes strongly.

"It turns out," Tadashi continues with a slight blush and chuckle, "that they probably just wanted me to live out my _own_ life for them. It's such a simple request, but it looks like from the very start I took it the wrong way."

"Pure logic and science can only get you so far," is Maeko's only response.

"Yeah, I suppose." Tadashi mutters. He spins his hat in his hands again. "I'm getting sort of… tired though. I still want to help, of course, but maybe not by hacking and slashing." His gaze flicks over his shoulder to where Baymax stands silently. "I already have one and more looking over my brother so I don't have to worry about that either…"

"Retirement?"

"Maybe." Tadashi responds, kneeling down again and observing the grave more closely.

Maeko watches him quietly.

Tadashi sighs, feels the cold of the grave beneath his fingertips, whispers under his breath as something in chest throbs dully: "I'm really tired, Maya… I really am becoming an old man, aren't I?"

There is, of course, no answer.

"Anyways, once again, I'm just here to say thank you and that everyone here is moving forward, looking at different angles, and… just… living."

No answer.

"And I am really glad that I met someone like you, that I met the others too. No regrets there, I promise."

He pulls back, blinks away the burning sensation in his eyes, and smiles softly at Maeko. Before they can exchange any more words, however, a loud voice booms out—

"Yooo, Maeko my dude!"

The two turn and find five people approaching them from downhill at various paces. Fred, of course, makes it to their sides first. He is followed shortly by Gogo, then Honey Lemon, and then by Wasabi and Hiro. When the latter reaches the top of the hill, he bounds over to his brother's side.

Before the younger Hamada can say anything, however, his attention is snatched away by the grave. He stares at the grayness quietly, acknowledgingly. A gratitude that he will never be able to express physically blossoms in his chest. Feelings similar to this resonate in the chests of the four other newcomers as they gaze upon the grave as well.

There is silence for a long time.

Finally, Hiro looks up from grave to his brother's face. His brother's gaze is fixated on him; and there seems to be slight amusement and pride (of all things) etched into his expression. And there is something else there as well. It is something that he has seen on his brother's face numerous times before; and it is only now, standing before Maya's grave, that Hiro can properly identify it.

Tiredness.

"Is there something on my face?" Tadashi asks coyly.

"Yeah, yikes." Hiro responds with a quirked brow. "You look like a gremlin who hasn't slept for ten thousand years."

Tadashi's pleasant expression falls flat.

"Well, I think it's safe to say that we're all pretty beat." Wasabi chimes in, saving Hiro from possible Hamada fury. He pauses, glances at Maeko and then at Tadashi. "You good?"

"Getting there." Tadashi laughs lightly. He turns to the grave for a moment, before he gives a nod of finality. "Yeah… I'm good."

No one moves.

Hiro blinks up at Tadashi for a moment, before he hums. "Shouldn't we be heading back soon? You know, so you don't end up passing out flat on the floor? Baymax could carry you, but you're pretty heavy…"

Tadashi blinks down at Hiro with a raised brow, before he hums back. "Yeah, you're right. Can't miss your bedtime right? Seven o'clock, was it?"

Before Hiro can retort, he is caught off guard as Tadashi lightly ruffles his hair.

"I'm getting tired as well." Maeko interrupts, stepping forward. "I will accompany you back to town."

There are no objections and no confusion to the statement, because the group is already well accustomed to the woman's presence. In fact, doing things just as this — strolling around the city together, visiting Fumiko, and visiting Maya's grave — have become part of their daily lives.

They descend the hill as a group.

Fred is boisterous and loud and outgoing as always despite the atmosphere; and he continually attempts to get Maeko to confirm his conspiracy theories. Wasabi attempts to direct the man's attention away from Maeko and repeatedly apologizes to the woman for his friend's erratic behavior. Gogo, on the other, glares quietly; before she finally decides to stick out her foot. Fred gracefully trips over the extended limb and is quickly helped up and diagnosed by a waddling Baymax.

Lingering several feet behind, the two Hamada brothers observe the unfolding chaos. Tadashi looks on with nostalgia and slight amusement; and he shakes his head lightly with a small smile in response. Hiro, on the other hand, observes with a raised eyebrow and much amusement; and for a second he considers dashing forward and joining them. However, a thought occurs to him; and instead of doing such a thing, he blinks up at his brother. He blinks up at his brother and hesitantly touches his arm.

Tadashi blinks down at him.

"Hiro?"

"Tadashi, you know you don't have to look out for me all the time, right?" Hiro murmurs. "I mean you don't have to like stress yourself and wear yourself out worrying like an old man. If you've had enough…" Hiro pauses, shrugs a bit embarrassedly, before he huffs. "Y-You gotta… live for yourself for you know."

Tadashi stares at Hiro's in surprise for a long moment, before he bursts out laughing. Hiro scowls brightly in turn, but then —

"Yeah, I know, knucklehead."

— his expression relaxes into contentedness.

Honey Lemon, who watches them from a foot or so away, smiles just as contentedly.

* * *

A wind blows gently by the grave marked with Maya Rice's name. It ruffles the petals of the flowers that are placed beside its base; and it shakes several petals free from their stems. The petals are carried up towards the sky by the wind and swirl towards the crowded city below.

The colors pass over a darkening soccer field where a handful of laughing and light-hearted girls play. They flutter through the field and grasp the attention of a dark-skinned girl who pauses, mid-kick, to stare after them. The girl is then called away by a young couple that has been watching her from the very beginning.

The colors then pass over an easily smiling man who is pushing an ice-cream cart forward along the darkening sidewalk. He doesn't notice them passing overhead because he is busily talking to a young man — a young man who is adorned in a black cap and has a baseball bat hefted over his right shoulder —who walks beside him.

The colors then swoop down past the court of a large mansion, past the standing figures of two men who stand at the center of it. One of the men is dressed in loose clothing and is adorned with dark sunglasses. This man wildy raps and dances in front of the other man who is dressed in butter-like attire. They do not notice the passing petals either, because they are too engaged in the evidently entertaining rapping and dancing.

The colors then swoop over a small building where a navy-dressed woman and a man who is adorned in both a trenchcoat and a lab coat stand arguing behind a window. A sign flashes in neon lights above the building they are residing in. It reads — "Scorpion Rice Detective Agency". The man's slightly irritable face is lit up by the red and blue lights of the sign; and he doesn't seem to notice the flurry of passing petals. The woman, on the other hand, catches the colorful flurry out of the corner of her eye; and she turns towards the window and stares out into the darkening sky — stares after them — with slight wonder.

The collection of petals then pass by the window of a hospital room. Insider the room reside two women — an apparent patient and an apparent nurse — who are listening to some recording on a cassette tape together. The patient cackles and the nurse attempts to stifle her laughter as a booming voice resounds from the player. They do not notice as the petals pass them by.

The wind then carries the petals over the gray structure of a maximum security prison — a rainbow against a completely gray backdrop. Well, the backdrop is not completely gray. A small area just barely on the outskirts of the prison is dotted with orange. An orange-dressed crowd. A crowd that watches as a handcuffed man is marched into the facility. One face in the crowd smiles triumphantly at the sight. This face — as well as the face of the man who is being marched in — turns up towards the black sky just as the petals pass above.

The wind then drags the colorful array to a small building nestled in the corner of a busy street at the heart of the city. A cafe building. Small and quaint.

It is evident that the cafe itself is closed, but there is still life within. A table is being set for dinner. Eight bodies fly around the kitchen section of the building.

"Wasabi, careful!"

"Is that even edible?"

"It says cook for twenty minutes… I'll do it for ten."

"Tadashi, watch out!"

A very lively atmosphere.

The wind gently carries the collection of petals around this building and through one of the ajar windows on the upper floors.

The petals swirl round and round the room that they have found themselves trapped within before they settle in the corner beside a black object that is layered with dust.

The petals are very colorful indeed. Unique.

A purple petal of a shion flower, a sharp petal of a dahlia, a pink and soft petal of an azalea, a bundle of fiery passion flower petals, and a bright hibiscus petal.

Several months from now, these still colorful and bright petals will be found still nestled around a dark black object that is layered with dust. Yes, they will be found lying next to a remnant of the past.

Yes, a black fox mask that is surrounded by a psychedelic array of flora.

* * *

fin.

* * *

**A/N**: Here we are, guys. The official end. It took quite some time (like the entire summer but shhh it's okay) but we've finally reached the end of this story. /tears up. This is like first fanfiction that I've ever finished; and I am kind of proud of myself for reaching this end point. I wouldn't have been able to make it to this point without your lovely reviews, guys! Anyways, hopefully this chapter has wrapped up any questions you may have had regarding the outcomes of the characters.

It's been a long and fun road! 2 years it took to finish this thing!

It's been great y'all! Really! I've actually met and became friends with some very interesting people through this fic. In particular, I'd like to give a shout-out to my kouhai JackFrostnDean and my dear friend nujabae!

Thanks to all who stuck with me through this story/journey from the beginning and thank you to all latecomers and newcomers! Your reviews really kept me going, guys! Gosh, looking through the reviews now, I recognize all of you and I remember when each one of you started reviewing qq. Getting nostalgic.

Once again, thank you guys so much!

_**!**_ **If you have any questions regarding this fic** or if you just want to talk in general, you can reach me on my twitter account or my tumblr account! I have the same user on those sites that I have here! Tykimikkitty!

Anyways, it's been real fun, guys! Sayonara! Hopefully, we'll see each other 'round!


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